The Long Road
by xXGageXx
Summary: A troubled man is thrust into the guardian role of two teenagers when the dead rise and the world is thrown into chaos. Original characters and story, no relation to DotD. Please R&R!
1. Another Day

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 1 - Another Day**

Derek lit up a cigarette and laid the lighter down in the passenger seat as he drove home from work that day. A pile of fresh butts sat in the ashtray. Five, he counted. All in a forty-five minute period, he noted. Chain smoking had become a habit of his as of late, but this day had been overly stressful. He had been used to closing the small grocery store he worked at, and today he had opened the store. He definately was not a morning person, but he could have coped had it just been that.

First thing that morning, the owner of the store had come in and observed him ringing up groceries for a customer he never really cared for. She was a short, older woman with an obvious hatred for everyone and everything. More than once she had complained to Derek about things most people wouldn't give a second thought. Now she was complaining about how the foods in the frozen section should be organized better, and that certain things such as frozen peas should be on a lower rack so shorter people could reach them easier.

Derek didn't care of course. He just kept ringing up her groceries with a constrained smirk on his face. How he wished one day he could just tell her how annoying she was. When he was finished ringing her up, she got very irate that he hadn't listened to her. He just sighed and told her the total, and she paid. Her complaints could be heard even after she had exited the store.

The owner of the store, Mr. Thompson, walked over to him then. He was a man in his mid-thirties. Glasses and a plain colored, button-up shirt. Very uptight. Everyone knows the type.

"Derek, that was not the way you should handle customers," he said, placing his hands on his hips and looking at Derek in a very demeaning manner. Derek shrugged and returned his look, an air of indifference in his voice.

"If she didn't annoy the hell out of everyone in the store," he said, "Maybe we would actually talk to her."

Mr. Thompson's face turned red, and he threw his hands up in the air.

"Do you need this job?" he asked. "Because if you don't, then there are several people that would gladly take it."

"Yes," Derek said, his temper beginning to flare. "I need this job." There was a lot more he wanted to say, like how he wanted to kick Mr. Thompson's football-shaped head around the store a few times, but he didn't want to jeapordize his pay check so he kept quiet.

"Well you definately need an attitude adjustment. Try acting like a normal human being instead of some thug and things would be a lot better for you!" Mr. Thompson said.

"Fuck you." Derek replied calmly. When the vein in Mr. Thompson's neck began to bulge out, Derek smiled happily.

"That's it!" Mr. Thompson said as he pointed towards the door. "You're fired! Get the hell out of my store! If you come back for anything besides getting your check I will call the police!"

Derek shrugged again and took off his apron, throwing it in Mr. thompson's face. _I might just have to knock this guy on his ass._ Derek stepped right in front of him and eyed him up and down.

"I guess I don't need this job!" Derek said. "So I guess it wouldn't be too much of a problem for me if I just laid your ass out right here!"

Mr. Thompson stepped back a bit, a frightened look on his face.

"Now just wait a minute," he said. "I don't want any trouble from you, I just want you to leave my store. Rest assured that I will call the proper authori..."

"I don't give a damn." Derek said, regaining his composure. "I already spent a year there. What's a few months for kicking your ass?" Derek bowed up and took a half-step forward, and Mr. Thompson tripped backwards. Derek laughed.

"Bitch." He said before he walked out.

As he smoked intently on his cigarette, the blaring metal song on the radio was interrupted with the announcer.

"This is Black Jack here at Kore104." His voice had a sense of seriousness and urgency that was very uncharacteristic for him. "This is the first time I have ever interrupted a song, but I think this time its...uh...pretty important. Some people have called in wanting to know what is going on at the hospital and on the north side of town.

"I don't know anything at all about it, but apparently what I have heard is that there's a situation down at the hospital and police have been called. The traffic is pretty backed-up, and I think is might be a pretty novel idea to find another route to your weekend escapades. Also the a lot of streets have been closed down on the north side near the business district and there's a lot of cops out there too. If I find out anything, I will give you an update then. Til then though, Rock on!"

Derek was a little concerned at this. His parents were coming back into town today from Florida, and the interstate exit they took to get home passed right through the north side of town. He cussed under his breath because he didn't want to delay the first home cooked meal he had had in weeks. He had been living with a friend for a few months, then there was a falling out right after his parents left. As far as he knew they hadn't caught onto the fact that he was living there again yet. After all he was twenty-two. Time for him to move on and make something of himself as far as his mother was concerned. What she didn't realize was that it would be easy for him to make something of himself if people weren't always getting in the way. Cops, bosses, the usual. All of them having something to add to things that didn't concern them.

A short time later, after he had traversed most of suburbia, he pulled onto the small street on which he lived. Bayside Street. It was a quiet little neighborhood nestled close to the wooded areas before the rural counties. Derek used to love it when he was a young kid. It was a nice place to ride a bike or have a water balloon fight, but once he got older, the monotony of it killed him. No one knew how to mind their own business in a place like that. And around the age of fourteen or fifteen, he had done everything that could possibly be done in or around Franklin.It was far better than living in the surrounding counties though.

As he pulled his beat up '92 Toyota Corolla down the road, he spotted a group of kids playing basketball in the street. He sighed, knowing the usual drill. He would have to sit there for a couple of minutes while they ran back and forth passing the ball until they finally decided to acknowledge there was a car waiting to pass. Then they would walk as slowly as they could to the sides of the street. Not the sidewalk, but the side, just to be difficult. Then they would exchange looks, letting each other know how ignorant they thought each other were. As Derek came to a stop, two of them walked over to his window.

Daniel and Livie Burns. They were probably the only two in the neighborhood Derek liked. Probably because their parents had been close friends ever since Derek's family moved there when he was two. Daniel was 17, just coming out of the awkward teenage years. His acne had cleared up, and he finally ditched his horrible chilly-bowl hair-cut for a modern buzz cut. He was a good kid. Good grades and all of that. Everything Derek's mom wished he had been when he was his age. Normally that would bother Derek, but the kid was just too naive to hold it against him. His sister, on the other hand, was a different story.

Olivia Burns was a bit of a problem child. At the ripe young age of fifteen, she was right on track with the usual rebellion of youth. She was a cute blonde who had blossomed a little too early, and she knew it. Their father had a hard time keeping her in line. She had a temper to match her old man's, and on more than one occasion Derek had seen her sneaking out of her house in the middle of the night. Just a normal sign of the times, he guessed.

"How's it going," Daniel asked as he walked over to the window.

"Alright, I guess." Derek said. "Just got fired from Super Mart."

"Wow," Daniel replied. "Why am I not suprised."

"Daniel, that's mean!" his sister said as she smacked him in the arm. Derek wasn't really in the mood for conversation, so he changed the subject.

"Have you guys heard about what's going on north side?" he asked, lighting up another cigarette. "From what the radio said, there's something pretty serious going on down there." Both of them shook there heads.

"Oh my god," Livie said. "What's happening?" She put her hands on her hips with one of those confused looks she gives.

"I have no idea," Derek said. "Black Jack said there was a lot of police around the hospital, and they had most of the north side of town closed down."

"That doesn't sound good," Daniel said.

"No," Derek said. "It doesn't. But I am pretty tired, so I am going to head to the house and lay down. You two be good."

"Ok," Daniel said. "Bye." He turned and joined back in the game.

"Bye!" Livie said as she leaned in the window and hugged him. Then she shimmied off to join her brother and the others.

Derek whipped into his driveway a couple of hundred feet away. He checked to make sure he had his cell phone, wallet, cigarettes, keys, and lighter, then hopped out of the car and into the house. The house had a little bit of an aroma to it. Not too bad, but not too good either. In the six days he had been there he had really junked the place up. He decided he would probably need to clean the house before his parents got home, so he turned on the t.v. and started picking up the living room.

He hadn't noticed the live news coverage at first as he cleaned off the coffee table and picked up some empty fast food bags, but as he was taking some cloths to the laundry room, the frantic look on the reporter's face caught his attention. He threw the cloths in the recliner and plopped down on the couch, then turned up the t.v.

"...still no reports from the mayor about what is going on." the young woman said as two cops ran past her. In the background was the hospital, and what looked like dozens of ambulances and police cars parked in front of it. "A group of people not yet identified have gone on a killing spree in the heart of Franklin. Apparently everything started at the house of an elderly couple early this morning. Seventy-three-year-old Karen Jenkins of East Dale was found in her home by police when neighbors noticed her front door was opened. Her body had been mutilated. Her husband, seventy-five-year-old James Jenkins has not been found.

"Since then the unidentified group has vandalized property and attacked what seem to be random individuals in the North Terrace area, and apparently attacked the hospital just a few hours ago. Police have two suspects in custody. The mayor ordered the north side of town and the area around the hospital off limits. Anyone heading this way should find an alternate route home. We will bring you more as this story unfolds. This is Nancy Moore for News Channel 8."

_Looks like someone pissed in the wrong persons bran flakes this morning._

Derek thought it would be a good idea to let his parents know not to go through the north side, so he flipped out his cell phone and dialed his dad's number. It rang several times with no answer. Derek was about to give up, when his father finally answered the phone.

"What?" Derek's father said, obvious irritation in his voice.

"Hey," Derek said. "I just thought I would call and tell you it might not be a good idea to come through town. There's a gang or something attacking people and the cops have it all closed off."

"Well why the hell couldn't you have called me thirty minutes ago?" his father growled. "We're sitting here a few blocks from North Terrace at a dead stand still. There's cops running all over the place, and they wouldn't even let you're momma out of the car to go use the bathroom."

Derek groaned. Of all the places they had to get stuck at, they picked right up the road from where the action was happening.

"Is there any other way you can get out of there?" Derek asked.

"No, dammit!" his father yelled. "We're stuck here. Let me call you back later." Then he hung up.

"What a bastard," Derek said. "Maybe it would do him some good to get his ass beat by some young punks."

On a whim, he dialed his girlfriend Philena. The ring-back tone she had on her phone was one of those gut-wrenching girl-pop songs. Everytime Derek heard it he gritted his teeth. But it was worth a few seconds of sonic garbage. She was an awesome lay.

"Hey!" she screamed into the phone and giggled over the music in the background. "What are you doing baby?" she asked.

"Just sitting here at the house," Derek said. "What are you up to?"

"Riding around with Amy getting stoned out of my mind!" she said just before she busted out into a laughing fit.

"Must be nice," Derek said. "I'm all out. Listen, have you heard about what's going on downtown?"

"No, we're out here by the mall," she said.

"Well something bad is going on. Lots of cops and ambulances. Why don't you come over here where it's safe?" Derek said with a hint of mischief in his voice.

"Well," she drug the word out in anticipation, "Maybe. Let me and Amy stop and get a bite top eat, then go get some cloths, then we will be on our way!"

"Alright. That's cool." Derek said. "See you soon."

"Bye!" Philena said, the hung up.

XxXxXxXx

A couple of hours passed and his parents hadn't gotten home yet. It was probably nothing. They most likely stopped to get a bite to eat. _Most likely without me_.

After a while of watching t.v., he decided to go outside and smoke a cigarette. Grabbing his pack and lighter, he stepped out onto the front porch and closed the door. He deeply inhaled the smoke and relished it. A year in jail had given him a new appreciation for smoking. Being locked behind bars without access to much more than lousy food and the rare delight of tobacco rolled in toilet paper. Every exhale was like a little taste of freedom for him.

It took him a few seconds to realize that most of the cars in the neighborhood were gone. That was very unusual, but he guessed everyone was either stuck in traffic or heading to the other counties in case something went wrong. He had been standing there for a few minutes when he noticed Daniel walking up the driveway. Derek didn't mind, he was happy to have the company.

"Hey," Daniel said. "I think something really bad is going on." Derek noticed once he got closer the almost terrified look on his face.

"It's probably not that bad," Derek said. "Did your girlfriend miss a period? Or is your dad going apeshit again?"

"No, no, no, no!" Daniel said. "It isn't anything like that. Most of the other guys in the neighborhood got called home, and most of them were leaving, like, a few minutes later. I stopped the Kilgores and talked to them, and they said things are real bad in town. They didn't know what it was, but they said Mr. Kilgore's brother, who is a cop, called them and told them to leave town for a few days."

"Man," Derek said. "Like I said, it's nothing." Derek said. He leaned up beside the house and tossed his cigarette out into the yard.

"That's not all," Daniel said frantically, raising his voice. "Dad hasn't gotten home yet, and we can't reach him on his phone, and Livie is freaking out."

Derek sighed. Their dad didn't really care much for Derek. Even though he was friends with Derek's parents, he knew it would be best to keep his kids away from him. His fears of pot smoking and outright defiance probably wouldn't be too far fetched either. Against his better judgement, he decided it would probably make the kids feel better if they stayed with him until their father got home.

"Go get you're sister," he said. "You two can hang out here."

"Ok," Daniel said. Then he darted back towards his house.

xXxXxXxX

Derek sat with Daniel in the kitchen, watching the day settle into dusk through the window as he listened to Daniel tell him about how things at school were, his girlfriends, and all kinds of things Derek didn't really care to hear about. Daniel liked to ramble. Not about anything off the wall, but he felt that every detail was important. He wouldn't tell you that he got ice cream yesterday. He would tell you that he got a double scoop of butter-pecan ice cream on a waffle cone. And then he would tell you about how the building looked really old. Stuff like that. Derek didn't mind too much. Daniel was nice company.

Livie was curled up on the couch in the fetal position. They had tried to call their dad several more times, but with no response. Livie began to think that maybe he had been attacked or killed. Derek knew better. Their father was a good man, but he was known to go have a few drinks with the guys from work at times. He was probably at the local bar throwing darts or something.

"I am going to go to college to be pyro-technician," Daniel said. The statement took Derek by suprise a bit.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Derek asked.

"Huh... why do you say that?" Daniel replied. Derek smirked then kicked back in the chair.

"Well for starters," Derek said. "You'll probably kill yourself or someone else. Secondly, who was the last person you talked to that was a pyro tech or had one in the family?"

"Well... no one," Daniel said. He made slightly disappointed face and looked down at the floor.

"Exactly," Derek said. "There's maybe a couple thousand in the entire country. And I bet most of those had a relative or a friend that got them started in it. It would be pretty shitty to go to college for two or four years, then when you go to get a job, there's not an opening anywhere. You need to go to college for something you can use. Make some good money at."

"Well why didn't you go to college?" Daniel asked with an inquisitive glare. Derek just looked at him and shrugged.

"College just isn't my thing," Derek said. "I would be just fine if people who stay out of my business."

"Well maybe if you didn't do things to get in trouble, they would leave you alone," Daniel said.

"Smart ass," Derek said. "Well maybe if yo..."

Derek didn't get to finish. A loud scream cut him off in mid-sentence. The kids yelled and screamed all the time, even at night sometimes, but this scream sounded different. It sounded wrong.

Both of them jumped up out of their chairs and raced out the front door. Livie jumped up onto the couch on her knees, asking what was wrong. From the front porch, they couldn't see anything, but they could definitely hear it. What sounded like two or three people screaming appeared to be coming from behind one of the houses on the opposite side of the street. Derek wondered if it would be worth his time to go check it out. Screaming meant cops. From the sounds of things, someone was getting beaten bad. He almost turned and went back inside when Daniel sprinted across the street.

"Daniel, get your ass back here!" he yelled, but to no avail. Daniel had already jumped the fence at the house across from them. Derek followed. He used to be a good runner in school, but four years of heavy smoking stopped that. He was huffing pretty hard after he jumped the fence and turned around the side of the building. He didn't see Daniel standing there and slammed into him, almost sending them both reeling to the ground.

Derek looked at Daniel and asked him what was up. The only reply he got was a blank stare as Daniel gazed across the next yard. Derek turned to see what was going on. One of their neighbors, Tammy was on her back porch screaming at something. It took Derek a second to see, but finally he saw her husband and son fighting in the back yard. Her husband, Frank, wrestled their son to the ground. Derek couldn't see anything after that because of a row of hedges.

Tammy's face went white when her son rose up. He faced his mother and screamed at her. It sounded like a psychopath on crack.

"Kyle!" Derek yelled. "Calm down!"

Kyle turned to face them, his shirt soaked from the blood that was flowing out of his mouth.


	2. The First Night

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 2 - The First Night**

Derek stepped back in shock. There was a look in Kyle's eyes like nothing he had ever seen before. It was a frantic, hateful look. The screams that tore from his lungs sounded un human as he fell over the fence to get to them. Tammy's screams finally snapped him out of his trance just as Kyle had gotten up and was closing in on him.

He had just enough time to grab Kyle by the shoulders as he was shoved to the ground. Derek was surprised at how strong Kyle was as he struggled to throw him off of him. The kid was like a rabid animal, kicking his legs out and snapping wildly at his face. Daniel stood a few feet away, frozen.

"Get him off Daniel!" Derek screamed at him. There was no response. "Daniel!"

Another scream caught his attention. Although he dared not take his concentration off of Kyle, he knew Livie was standing near Daniel. Her screams had apparently roused Daniel from his stupor, and he ran over and kicked Kyle awkwardly in the ribs. It was almost as if he hadn't even touched him. Livie joined in the assault with a rake that had been laying by the house. Still no reaction.

Daniel stood back and frantically looked around. Finally, he spotted a 2 x 4 laying in the bushes. He snatched it up and with both hands he hit Kyle in the temple. The impact was enough to knock him off to the side, and within seconds Derek had gotten to his feet.

"Kyle! What are you doing?" he screamed at him. "Don't make me fuck you up!"

Kyle lunged at him again. Daniel jabbed him in the head again with the timber once again. It had knocked Kyle down. Derek ran over and kicked him in the side. Tammy screamed for them to not hurt Kyle, but Derek's temper had already flared. Each time Kyle tried to get up Derek delivered another blow. After several kicks, he realized it might not take much more to kill the poor boy. He wondered why he wasn't dead already.

Livie cried at the side of the house. She pleaded for Kyle and Derek to stop fighting. Daniel told in his low but serious voice to go back in the house, but she wouldn't. Finally Derek decided Kyle was crazy. Just plain psycho. He would probably already go to jail for assaulting a minor. He really didn't think a murder charge on top of that would help matters any. With another hard kick to the head he turned and ran towards the house, grabbing Livie.

"Go!" he yelled at her. The three of them took off back across the road. They weren't even across the road when Kyle rounded the side of the house. His mother burst out the front door and screamed to him. He turned and stared at her for a second. As Derek looked back, he almost thought Kyle had come to his senses, then Kyle growled and took off after his mother. Derek noted the large tear in his shoulder, and wondered if he had inflicted it upon him.

_Damn. That will probably add on more charges._

Derek didn't stay around to watch Kyle as he pushed his mother down inside of the house. Tammy's scream's for help fell on dead ears. Derek shut the door and locked it. Then slammed the dead bolt for good measure.

Livie was on the phone reciting his address when he turned around.

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Derek said loudly, even though he knew the answer.

"She called 911", Daniel said. He was sitting on the couch, staring at the floor and rocking back and forth. Derek groaned, and when Livie put the phone down he stepped over to her.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he said. "Don't you realize they will probably take us all to jail?"

Livie looked back at him, tears streaming down her face. She was scared, and didn't know what to do.

"Why the hell did you do that?" he screamed at her. That was her breaking point. She broke down. Her face was red and puffy, and her sobs turned to screams. Daniel stepped up between her and Derek.

"Chill out!" Daniel said. "Just chill out."

"Why the hell should I chill out?" Derek said. "Your sister just probably got me arrested!"

"Look, someone has probably called the cops already." Daniel said. "And in case you forgot, he also attacked his dad and maybe even his mom. She did the right thing."

"No, Daniel, she didn't." Derek said. "As far as I know, no one else saw what happened except for us. Now that she called, they will come over here asking all kinds of questions. You hit him with a fucking 2 x 4! What do you think they will do to you?"

Daniel went silent and regretfully looked away. Derek stormed off into the kitchen and threw his hands up. His shaky hands combed the table for his cigarettes, and when he found them he immediately put one in his mouth. It took him a few minutes to find the lighter. It had been dropped under the table when they ran outside. Just as they lit it, Daniel called to him.

"Dude you have to come see this." He said. Against Derek's better judgement, he walked into the living room. Livie was curled up in a ball again on the couch. Derek walked over to Daniel who was standing by the window, looking out the blinds.

Derek glanced out the window as well. Frank was wondering aimlessly in the middle of the street. His cloths were covered with blood, the his upper torso and arms were mangled. A large, gaping hole was in the place where his throat should be. Daniel ran over to the door and started to open it, but Derek grabbed his arm just before he turned the door handle.

"No, Daniel." Derek said.

"He's hurt!" Daniel pulled out of his grasp. "And he looks confused! Someone needs to go out there and help him."

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Derek asked. "Look at him! I don't even see how he is still alive! He probably wants to kick our asses for beating his son, don't ya think?"

"I don't care!" Daniel said. "I'm going out there!" Derek grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him up against the wall.

"No, you're..."

Derek was cut off by the sound of sirens coming down the road. He let go of Daniel and they both went over to the window and watched as two police cars pulled up right in front of Frank.They stepped out of their cars, their guns drawn. At first Derek thought that was odd, but figured it was because of all the stuff going on in town. He heard them order him to back away and wait until an ambulance arrived. Frank did something then that no one expected.

Frank ran towards the cops. Derek heard two shots, but the cops were on the other side of their cars, blocking his view. Their was a scream, then another shot. One cop jumped up to his feet, pointing his gun down. Slowly, the other leaned against the car as he got up. Their was a wound on his arm, but nothing serious. Derek smiled when he heard the cop cussing Frank.

Then, out of no where, Kyle jumped on the wounded cop's back. His mother wasn't far behind. They both clawed and bit the officer. His partner reflexively shot Tammy in the head, and she slumped against the side of the car. The wounded officer subdued the much smaller Kyle after a small struggle.

Almost on cue, an ambulance screeched to a halt. Two paramedics hopped out and rushed over to where Kyle was subdued. Kyle was pinned under the officer on the hood of the car. As he fumbled for his handcuffs, he barked something at the paramedics, who then turned their attentions to the wounded officer.

Derek noticed that the smaller of the two paramedics was female. A bit on the heavy side, he still thought she was "do-able". She went and retrieved a small first-aid kit from the ambulance and set to work on the officer as Kyle was slung into the back of one of the police cruisers. Then an apparent argument insued.

Derek and Daniel caught bits and pieces, something about not having enough men or time. Once bandaged, the wounded cop stepped over to join his partner. He was older and apparently calmer than the other, and soon after he joined the conversation the four of them loaded the corpses of Tammy and Frank into the ambulance and left just as quickly as they came.

Even after everything that had just happened, Livie laid there on the couch. Derek was a bit remorseful for how he had acted towards her, but there was nothing he could do now. He turned to Daniel, who was still looking out of the window, dumbfounded. Derek was shocked at the spectacle that had just unfolded right in front of his eyes, but he was relieved that they hadn't come knocking on his door. He hoped that given the current situation this incident might slip through the crack, or that the influx of people into the local justice system would get any charges they might file against him dismissed.

"Dude...did...did..." Daniel stuttered. He was visibly very shaken. Derek didn't quite know what to say.

"Yea," he said. "I saw what happened." Then Derek nodded towards Livie and put his finger up to his mouth. Daniel nodded and the two of them headed back into the kitchen.

XxXxXxXx

It was about 8:37. Derek had kept a close watch on the clock ever since the incident in the road had happened. He had also turned off all the lights, locked the doors, and ushered Daniel and Livie into his bedroom. A section of his window blinds were broken from the excessive peeks out the window. A heavy blanket had been draped over the window blinds to keep any light from the TV from being seen from outside. His baseball bat sat next to his bedroom door.

Livie was still upset over the events from earlier. She hugged her knees close to her chest as she watched the music videos Daniel had turned on.

"Hey, we might want to check out the news." Derek said. "I don't know if it comes on at eight or nine, but it's worth a look."

Daniel nodded and changed the channel to channel four.

"...asked to remain in their homes if at all possible." A young black woman said. She was standing in front of what appeared to be City Hall.

"What the hell...?" Derek asked.

"In the event you must leave your house for whatever reason," the reporter said, "here is a map and a list of all policed areas. The policed areas are in red on the map, with areas of concern in yellow. All unauthorized personnel are to stay away from the policed areas, and must exercise extreme caution in the areas in yellow. These areas are as follows..."

Derek watched in awe as the reporter named off various areas and pointed them out on the map. The suburban area Derek and the kids lived in was perhaps fifteen miles west from the north side of town, with the hospital residing a few miles east from the north side. That's what the map showed, anyways.

Most of the neighborhoods in the north part of the city were in red. The map showed that the violence was relegated in the north side and had spread to the east. The areas surrounding the policed areas were in yellow. Probably a precaution, but Derek assumed some sort of dissent had happened there as well.

"Minutes after the president had declared martial law in some of the northern cities, Canada, Britain, and many European countries also reported instances of rioting. There still is no explanation for what is happening. The White House has neither confirmed or denied that there is any connection to these instances of rioting and any terrorist activities.

"The only thing that is known is that the rioters do not seem to be of any one socio-ethnic group. They appear to be of several races and genders. If someone comes in contact with someone suspected to be a dissident, please contact your local police department immediately."

Derek sighed and slammed his fist down on the dresser. Where were his parents? Where was Mr. Burns? They had tried to call them several times since the fiasco outside, but still no answer. Livie had cried for two hours straight. Derek had tried to talk to her, but she just screamed at him and turned away.

"Wow." Daniel said. "This is really bad. I bet all those rioters are mad about the war over in the Middle-East, or something like that."

"I hope so," Derek said. "But I doubt it. This is too much shit for people all over America and Europe to be attacking each other over."

"What are we going to do?" Livie asked. She had looked up at Derek over her knees. Even though her hair covered her face, he could still see the tears glistening from the glare of the t.v.

"Well...uh..." Derek said, "I guess we will stay here. There's no point in going anywhere right now. I will go out and get food tomorrow."

"But what if someone tries to get in the house?" Livie said.

"Oh don't worry about that," Derek said with a smile. HE walked over to the door and picked up his baseball bat. "If that happens, I'll knock the fuck outta someone."

Livie gave a weak smile. She knew that Daniel and Derek would protect her. And even though she hated to admit it, she loved her weird brother more than almost anything in the world and knew he felt the same way. What bothered her, though, was what would happen if something happened to them? Then what would happen? She wasn't accustomed to being independent. Sure, she exercised her independence of youth like every teenager, but there is a huge difference between going out late at night or hanging out with whomever she wants and having to get her own food and such. That was what frightened her most.

Then the home phone rang. Derek looked over at it, but Daniel almost sailed across the room and snatched it up off the floor.

"Hello?" he said. "Uhh... yes he's here. Hold on." He handed the phone to Derek.

"Yea," Derek said. He had hoped it was his parents, but this was dashed when he heard the voice on the other line.

"Derek?" the voice said. It was old, and female. Derek recognized it almost at once.

"Mrs. Davis?" Derek asked. He was stunned.

"Hello Derek," she said. "Are your parents there?"

"No, they're not," Derek said. "What's going on?"

"Oh, not much," she said. "It's just that Henry hasn't come home from fishing. I don't know where he could be. And then there's all this crazy stuff going on in town. Can I come over to your house until Henry gets home? I don't want to impose, but I haven't stayed alone at night in a very long time."

Derek was silent for a bit. He hadn't had much to do with Elena Davis since he was a young teenager. She was like the surrogate mother to all the kids in the neighborhood. He could remember his mother and Mrs. Davis teaching him how to ride a bike. As he got older, he drifted away from most of the adults in his life. It would be very awkward for him to have her sleeping in his house, but he didn't see how he could turn her away.

"Yes, I'll be over there in a minute to walk you over." he said.

"Oh thank you!" she said. Her voice suddenly held a sincere sense of gratitude.

"Don't mention it, Mrs. Davis." he said. "I'll be over in just a minute ok?"

"Alright," she said. "See you in a minute."

Derek hung the phone up and picked up the baseball bat. He looked over at Livie and Daniel.

"You two stay here," he said. "Lock the doors and don't let anyone in except me and Mrs. Davis."

"Is she ok?" Daniel asked.

"I guess so," Derek said, then he turned and went down the hall to the living room. The others were right behind him. He put his hand on the door knob and looked back at them.

"If anything happens," he said, "Dad's rifle and pistol are in his closet. Stay here in the house and don't come outside no matter what."

His heart was beating in his ears as he made his way up the street. It was eerily quiet, and dark. The street lights were on, but there was usually light illuminating out of the houses. The only one with any lights he could see was Mrs. Davis'.

He held his bat over his shoulder, ready to swing it in a moments notice. Mrs. Davis' house was just five houses up, but it seemed a lot farther. He walk quickly as opposed to running so that he could hear if anyone was coming towards him. Once in front of her house, he looked around before heading up the old, creaky stairs to the porch.

He didn't even have to knock. Mrs. Davis opened the door holding a small suitcase in one hand and had her arm around a large paper sack. She was a small woman, but very round. Her skin was a dark shade, proof of a life of hard work, whether it was out at the horse farm that her sister owned or out in her own garden. What always stayed with Derek was her smile and her laugh.

"Oh Derek, thank you!" she said. He could tell by her puffy eyes that she had been crying. "I am so scared!"

"Don't worry," he said. "Everything's alright. There's just some odious shit going on, but I am sure it will be ok in the morning." Mrs. Davis frowned a bit at his expletive, but he went on like he didn't notice it.

"Well come on," he said. "We need to get back. It's getting late." That was a nice excuse. Better than telling her he didn't care to be ripped to shreds by psychopaths.

Mrs. Davis' eyes widened. "Is little Kyle out there?" she said in a low whisper. Derek shook his head.

"No, the cops came and took him away," he said. "Now come on, let's go."

Mrs. Davis closed her door and locked it, then Derek took the bag from her. A quick peak inside revealed some canned goods, a few packs of meat, and some fresh vegetables.

"I haven't eaten dinner yet," she said defiantly.

The walk back to the house was uneventful, and Daniel was waiting with the door opened. They stepped inside and he quickly shut the door and locked it. Derek then ushered them back to his bedroom.

"Mrs. Davis!" Livie said as she jumped up and gave her a big hug.

"Livie!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her big arms around her and squeezed her tight. "And Daniel, too! Where is your father?"

"We don't know," Daniel said. "He hasn't come home, and he isn't answering his cell phone." Mrs. Davis' frowned.

"Oh, dearies," she said. "And Derek? Where are your parents?"

"I don't know, either," he said. "I talked to them earlier today, and they were in a traffic jam on the north side of town. I haven't heard from them since then."

"Oh no," she said, then wrinkled her nose. "This place smells like an ashtray, Derek. Why don't we go into the kitchen?"

"No," Derek said. "We're staying here for now."

"Well, I don't see..." Mrs. Davis said, but Derek interrupted her.

"We're staying in here," Derek stated more firmly. "Not too long ago, we saw some..." he stopped and looked at Livie. Even though he hadn't said anything, she choked up again and leaned against Mrs. Davis. "We saw some things going on in the neighborhood. You know, Kyle." He neglected to tell her about his parents.

"Well, he is gone now isn't he?" she asked.

"Yes," Derek said. "But haven't you been watching the news?"

Mrs. Davis told him that she hadn't, so Derek and Daniel filled her in. When they were done, she sat down on the bed with her head in her hands.

"I guess that might have something to do with everyone being gone," she said.

Derek then realized that Henry usually fished up in the wooded areas about twenty miles north. He didn't say anything, but he didn't think what was going on in town affected him not getting home. But if it didn't, then what had?

He didn't have much time to think about it. A loud buzzing could be heard. It was his cell phone on the dresser, then it began to ring. He picked it up and looked at the caller id. It was Philena.

"Hey, girl," he said when he answered it. "What's going on?"

"Derek!" her voice was frantic. "Derek please come get me! I need you!"

"Wait a minute, hold on," he said. "What the hell is going on."

"I'm at Homer's Burgers," she said, "We're all locked in here, and there's some crazy people trying to get in here. They're screaming and kicking the windows and..."

"Hey! Shut up for a second," he said, ending her rant. "Look, I am on my way. Just stay find a place to hide and don't come out until I get there!"

"Ok," she said. "I love you."

"Yea," he replied. "Love you,too."

Then he hung up the phone and dashed into his dad's bedroom. In the closet, behind his old navy uniform were two boxes. One was a long rifle case, and the other was a shoe box. He pulled the .22 out of it's case. There were two boxes of shells. Then he got the snub nosed .357 and checked to see if it was loaded. It was, and he also took one of three packs of fifty bullets and shoved it down his pocket.

"Here," he said as he walked back into the living room and handed Daniel the rifle. "Don't open the door for anyone. I'll be back as soon as possible."

With that, he opened the door and dashed out to his car. He backed out of the driveway and went off into the night with a loud screech


	3. Into The Night

**Author's Note Thank you for the good reviews. I was quite excited to put up the first two chapters, seeing as how I haven't wrote fiction since highschool. The words didn't flow as well as they should have due to my limited time. I spent a little more time on this chapter and plan to do so in the chapters to come. Any feedback would be well appreciated. Thanks!**

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 3 - Into The Night**

"Dammit!" Derek exclaimed. Mist filled his eyes where the ashes from his cigarette had blown.

Excessive speed had made the drive much shorter than it would have normally been. Ninety miles-per-hour in a fifty mile-per-hour zone. Focusing all his attention to the task at hand, he never wondered why a cop hadn't pulled him over. Normally he would be peering into his rearview mirror every few seconds, but not now. If any did try to pull him over, he had already made up his mind to lead them to Homer's. It might not have been a good idea, but he figured he would deal with it as it came.

Shattered glass in the road caught his eye a few dozen yards ahead. Swerving to miss it, he noticed a dark figure step out from the side of the road. Tightening his grip on the revolver he had laid in the passenger seat, his heart pumped even faster as he eyed the side- and rearview mirrors. Flailing her arms wildly, a thirty-ish looking woman yelled for him to stop and help her. The rear end of a black mini van protruded from the sparse tree line behind her.

"Maybe the stupid bitch will learn how to drive," he said.

Blue and red lights reflected off the mirrors of the small shopping centers that littered the roadside leading to Homer's. Derek's eyes darted back and forth as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing as he tore past.

Sitting in what seemed to be a road block formation, Derek slowed car down. As he quickly slid the revolver into the glove box, an eerie feeling gripped him. The engine roared as he jumped up on the sidewalk and sped past the cars. With a look of confusion coming to his face, he realized that there was no one around the half-dozen or so cruisers. No signs of a struggle or anything.

When he focused ahead towards Homer's he found out where the cops had gone. Screams and gun shots echoed in the distance as he closed the gap. People were running everywhere, some of them into the restaurant but many of them out of it. Cops were barking orders and firing into the crowd of people as they tried to flee.

The screams of a young man caught his attention. Handcuffed on the ground, he kicked and tried to get up. Another man came from behind one of the cars and headed straight for him. The blood that stained his shirt must have come from a gunshot wound, Derek thought. Derek lost sight of the restrained man when the other jumped on top of him. Over the din of the chaos around him, the first man's screams increased in pitch and desperation, then fell silent. Derek watched in horror as the second man shifted to the side, tearing the man's throat out with his teeth.

A knot tightened in Derek's stomach. Vomit splattered against the passenger side floor board as his stomach convulsed. Then he heard her.

"Derek!" Philena screamed. "Derek!"

Looking around in desperation, he finally spotted her running towards him. Trying with all his strength to keep up with her was an older, white-haired man. Derek pulled the revolver out of the glove box and aimed it towards him.

"No!" she screamed, "Don't shoot!"

Tears flowed from her eyes, her face flushed from exhaustion. Derek came to a halt a few yards from the two of them. Philena fell hard into the seat and fumbled to reach the handle as the older man got into the back.

"What the fuck took you so long?" she screamed at him. "Let's get the fuck out of here!"

"You need to calm the fuck down," Derek said as he busted a u-turn and drove back towards his house. "What the fuck was happening back there? And who the hell are you?" The old man met his gaze in the rear view mirror.

Philena was crying hysterically now, and Derek tried to calm her down to no avail. After a few seconds he smacked her hard across the face and screamed at her to shut up. Stiffening in the mirror, the old man's eyes hardened but he said nothing. Philena sobbed quietly and curled up against the door.

"Listen!" Derek said. "I lost my job, I don't know where my family is, I saw two of my neighbors killed, and I just had to pick my girlfriend up from a riot. This is a really fucked up day! Now tell me what the hell was going on?"

"Those...those...things got inside," the man said, his voice shaking with fear. "They were killing people and eating them!"

"What do you mean eating them?" Derek said. "And where's Amy?"

"Amy..." Philena clinched her fist and pressed them against her face as a new sobbing fit hit her.

"Her friend," the old man said more calmly, "She ran. We heard her scream. And..."

"She's fucking dead," Philena screamed. "If you had gotten here sooner she would still be alive!"

A flash of red clouded Derek's vision, Philena jumping across the shifter and pummeling him. With one arm trying to protect his face from the blows and the other trying to maintain control of the car, Derek face reddened in anger. The dark clouds in his eyes dispersing, he saw the front end of a car coming ever closer. He jerked the wheel hard. A loud crash and the sounds of the passenger's screams flooded his head.

The car seemed to float as Derek hopelessly turned the wheel. Derek cursed when the car failed to respond. Experience taught him to not hit the brake or the accelerator. A series or thuds and jolts wracked his body as a mailbox, a bench, and some garbage cans fell away from the car in it's wild frenzy. One last jerk and the car stopped; it had slowed down enough to not knock down the chain link fence.

Derek's mind raced as he took all this in. A stranger in the back seat. Philena had just knocked the piss out of him, causing him to wreck his car. And to top it all off, World War III was breaking out perhaps a mile behind him.

Philena was up against the car door again. Her forehead was swollen and red, but that was the least of her worries at the moment. Derek turned to her, her eyes widening and fear. She tried to speak, but could only stutter and repeat "Oh my god!"

"Stupid Bitch!" Derek said. The revolver had wound up in the passenger side floor board. Philena tensed up and sobbed quietly as he picked it up. The man in the back seat eyed the gun.

"Who the fuck are you?" Derek asked the man. Philena shied away from his touch as reached over to stroke her cheek.

"My name is Gerald," the man said clenching his hands on the edge of the seat. Derek wasn't really paying attention to him.

"You ok, baby?" he asked Philena. It took a bit of a pull, but she laid her head on his chest and cried.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"You wrecked my car. Why the fuck did you do that?" he said.

"I...I don't know," she replied.

Derek pushed her over into the passenger seat and got out of the car. He already knew the steering linkage was probably gone. Even had it not been, Derek knew the car wouldn't drive anyways. Derek walked to the front of the car, noting that the hood and frame had been pushed into the engine. Air hissed out of the only front tire which still had any air in it.

Derek placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. It had all happened so fast. What should he do? The scene at the diner had made him even more adamant about not contacting the police. His house was more than ten miles away, a long way to travel on foot. People were going crazy and killing each other.

He spat on the ground, trying to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth. Philena got out of the car and walked over to his side. Gerald followed her, trying the push the creases out of his slacks.

Gerald was probably in his early forties. From the way he carried himself Derek could tell he probably hadn't had a hard day in his life. A business man's hair cut, button-up shirt, and slacks reinforced this. A silver rolex caught and reflected the light as he swaggered over.

"What are we going to do now?" Gerald asked.

"Well me and Philena are going home," Derek said. Philena wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed into his chest. "I don't know where you're going."

"Wh...What do you mean?" Gerald's voice sounded desperate. "You can't leave me out here! It's pandemonium!" His statement reiterated the soft gunshots in the distance. Derek shrugged.

"Look, I got you out of there," Derek said. "I really didn't want to do that."

"Derek, please," Philena said. "He's...it's...we've got to go. Now."

"Whatever," Derek said as he turned and started walking, Philena staring at him.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Away from here," he replied.

_I should have just left the bitch to rot. At least then I would still have my car._

Derek led them behind the stores, where there was less chance of encountering anybody. Leading the way, he made sure to check every alley and look around every corner. They were in for a long walk.

XxXxXxXx

Three hours later Derek, Philena, and Gerald made their way up the steps to his house. His legs ached from the walk, and Gerald huffed and wheezed the majority of the way. Philena staggered along, seeming to be in some sort of a daze.

They saw no one save three police cars headed in the direction of Homer's. Derek anticipated seeing the woman he had passed earlier, but there was no one in or around her van. Every neighborhood they cut through emitted the same unnatural quiet as Bayside now. Derek was thankful though. He wasn't too excited about meeting any new people. Gerald bothered him enough.

Derek had gathered from Gerald that he was a computer analyst for a company downtown, and Gerald let him know what a good patcheck he received every week. Gerald annoyed the hell out of Derek, and more than once on the way home Derek had told him to shut up. It wouldn't have taken much for Derek to knock him out.

The keys jingled as Derek took them out of his pocket and unlocked the door. The barrel of a gun met him once the door was opened. A rigid Daniel was on the other end of it in the dark. Gerald let out a yelp and ran back into the yard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Derek asked Daniel.

"Sorry, man," Daniel said, his body relaxing as the tension left them. "Where have you been? We tried calling you and your phone was cut off. And where's the car?"

"It's a long story," Derek said. "Come on Gerald, let's get inside."

After locking the door and checking the blinds, Derek led them all back to his room. The first thing he did was snatch up a pack of cigarettes from the dresser and lit one up, then stepped out into the hallway. Daniel and the other's listened intently as Derek told them about their encounter at Homer's. Livie sat on the edge of the bed the whole time, staring at the floor. When the question of Amy came up, Philena leaned against the wall and wrapped her arms around herself. Finally, when Derek was finished, Mrs. Davis stood up.

"Oh, that's just awful," she said. "I wish my Henry were here." Her eyes welled up, the sudden realization of what probably happened to him setting in.

"And Daddy, too," Livie silently sobbed.

"Well what are we going to do?" Philena said, stepping forward to face everyone.

"We're going to chill out here," Derek said. "With all this shit going on, I don't want to be out there."

"Well I have to get to my family," Gerald interjected. "So I need someone to drive me, or let me use their car. Derek, I'll need you or that young man over there," he pointed to Daniel, "to ride along in case something happens."

"You've lost your damn mind," Derek said. "Do you really think I'm stepping foot out there if I don't have to?"

"Look," Gerald said, "I am worried about my family just as all of you are about yours'. I'm going home with or without you."

"You know where the door is," Daniel said.

Gerald stood there, fidgeting with his watch as everyone stared at him in silence. It didn't take long for him to concede.

"Alright, fine!" Gerald said. "We'll wait until tomorrow."

Gerald sat down on the bed next to Livie, careful to keep his distance from her. He crossed his arms, avoiding Derek's stare.

"The news is on!" Mrs. Davis said.

The face of the reporter from earlier was fatigued. It seemed she had been hard it all day. Brick walls with what appeared to be military insignias covering them stood solid in the background. A stoic-looking man in army fatigues stood beside her.

"This is a live broadcast from Channel Four coming to you from the National Guard Armory on Elder Avenue. This is Staff Sergeant Daniel Williams with the 147th Infantry Battalion stationed here in Franklin. Sgt. Williams, what can you tell us about your unit's orders to assist local law enforcement in controlling the recent string or attacks and rioting that have plagued our city?"

Everyone leaned closer to the t.v. as Daniel grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.

"The 147th has mobilized and will be suppressing any dissidents in the downtown and north side areas of Franklin," Sgt. Williams said. "Also, a detachment of thirty men has been deployed to reinforce security operations in and around the hospital."

"Can you tell us exactly what your orders are, and can you elaborate as to whether or not you intend to use deadly force on the rioters?" she asked.

"You would have to speak with my superiors to get a better answer on that subject of course," he said, "but rest assured that if any innocent lives are in danger the 147th will do anything necessary to protect those lives."

"This is really bad," Daniel said, keeping his eyes glued to the t.v.

"Shut up and listen," Derek growled.

"Thank you Sgt. Williams," the reporter said, then turned back to the camera. "As you can see the state and local authorities have a firm handle on the situation. Here is your updated list of no-go areas."

She repeated the same warnings as earlier in the day as a map covered the screen. Derek noticed as she read off the names of the no-go areas that Homer's was dead in the middle of one now. The map also showed that the red had spread into more areas. When she signed off and the program went to an infomercial, Derek wandered why there wasn't any coverage about what had transpired at the restaurant.

"I just can't believe this," Mrs. Davis said. "Why are all these people just hurting others for no reason? I mean, it doesn't make any sense."

"I'll tell you what it is," Gerald said matter-of-factly, "It's the liberal media keeping the true story out of the news."

"Gerald," Derek's annoyance just kept getting worse. "Shut the hell up."

"Well that's what it is," Gerald said.

"How can you even know that?" Daniel said. "I mean yea, it's possible, but I doubt that the government would let them do that."

"You're pretty nieve, kid," Gerald said. "You need to learn what you're talking about before you open your mouth."

Derek shook his head and tried to rub the sleepiness from his eyes.

"I'm tired as hell," he said. "Let's get some sleep, then we'll figure all this shit out tomorrow."

He thought about possible sleeping arrangements, noting that he didn't want Gerald taking one of the guns and his dad's truck which was parked on the side of the house.

_I'll have to get dad's keys_. After a few moments of debate, he decided.

"Daniel, you take Livie and Mrs. Davis and sleep in Mom and Dads' room," he said. "Me and Philena will sleep in the living room." Philena glared at him, but he continued. "Gerald, you stay in the guest room. Good Night everyone."

Daniel picked up the rifle he had laid down beside the door and walked into the room, Mrs. Davis in tow. Livie remained in the on the bed, watching t.v. Meanwhile, Gerald deduced which room was his for the night and closed the door with a slam.

"Why do we have to sleep in the living room?" Philena said, a bit of apprehension in her voice.

"So Gerald doesn't try to take a gun or dad's truck," he whispered to her. "Plus, I don't think it would be too cool to stick anyone else in the living room in case something happened."

"Well I don't want to be in here if something does happen!" Philena exclaimed .

"Then go sleep with Daniel and them," he replied, too tired to argue the point. Philena pouted and wrapped her arms around him.

"You're such an asshole," she said, then let go of Derek and pulled the back pillows off the couch and hopped down.

Derek told her he would be right back and made his way down the hallway, keeping his ears open as he walked past Gerald's door. Daniel was laying in the floor between the bed and the door, the rifle laying beside him. Mrs. Davis was curled up in the bed, fast asleep.

"Keep that gun close, maybe under the bed," Derek whispered as he leaned down. Daniel nodded as Derek grabbed the keys off the night stand and went back into the living room, making sure to keep the revolver in his pocket, safety on.


	4. Under Control

**Author's Note - I just want to thank Hoobajoo, Horned Reaper 266, LA Suka, Master Chief-063, and everyone else who has read and/or reviewed my story. As I have said, this is my first try at fiction in a long time and the feedback is much appreciated. I will try my best to update at least once a week as I have been. Thanks once again to everyone!**

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 4 - Under Control**

Derek stared as the ceiling fan rotated, pleading for rest. His mind was churning the events of the past day, trying to make some sense of them. Philena, curled up against him with her head on his chest, purred in her sleep. Derek was thankful that she had finally drifted off, her quiet sobs and childish questions beginning to play on his nerves.

First, he made a mental list of things that everyone would eventually ask of him or take on themselves. Everyone was concerned about there families, that was common knowledge. But how could they find them if they couldn't contact them? Apparently Gerald was the only one who had spoken to his family. Derek and Philena had heard him talking on what they figured was a cell phone. Derek hoped they would come and get him, but he seriously doubted it.

Next was the food situation. With all that was going on, he couldn't ask anyone to leave except Gerald, which he promptly planned to do the next day. After taking a mental inventory of what food was in the house, he figured that he had enough food to feed the five of them for the next two or three days with regular meals. Anything besides that would be chips, pudding snacks, etc.

He had a little money on him. Enough to keep them up in junk food for a week maybe. Daniel had a job, he would hit him up for what he had. Then there was the food at Daniel and Mrs. Davis' houses. They would round all of that up before they headed to the store.

As far as anything else, they would hold off until they had some understanding of what was going on. No sense in making any plans or going anywhere else.

With all this settled, his mind drifted back to the news broadcasts from earlier. What really bothered him was that the National Guard had been called in, and that martial law had been declared in certain cities. The reporter had said the authorities had a "firm handle" on whatever it was that was going on. After his trip to Homer's, and the spread of the so-called "no-go" areas, Derek had serious doubts about that.

Finally he thought about his parents. Sadly, he envisioned them at a hotel somewhere, or maybe even a make-shift shelter in some run-down building. His dad was cussing and complaining the entire time, with his mother smoked on a bench just out of earshot. He knew better though. They weren't coming home. There were thousands of phones where they were at, not to mention their cell phones. They would have called. Something had happened to them. Something...

Derek shook his head slowly but defiantly, refusing to admit to himself they were gone. If he maintained hope, maybe they would be alright. Maybe.

A solitary tear clouded his eye, only to vanish as he closed his eyes and sank into a deep sleep.

XxXxXxXx

Birds chirped loudly outside. Not the low, intermediate sound of the morning, but the high-pitched banter of the afternoon. The sun seeped in through the cracks in the blinds, rousing Derek from his slumber.

Eleven thirty-nine p.m., he noted. Philena was still clinging to him even after hours of sleep. It was obvious from the tightness of her lips that it had not been restful. Almost inaudibly, the t.v. softly carried down the hallway. Mrs. Davis' voice could be heard, then Livie's. Derek surmised that Daniel was somewhere in the house, thinking to himself like he often did.

Careful not to wake Philena, he rose up off the couch and headed into the kitchen, pulling his cigarettes and lighter out of his pocket. There wasn't an ashtray, so he found a soda can in the garbage. Inhaling deeply as he lit it, he ciphered that Mrs. Davis and Livie were talking about Henry and Livie's father Scott.

Grumbling, he wished they would talk more softly. Although he was happy that Livie had come out of her stupor from yesterday, her girlish giggling and Mrs. Davis' hackling laugh annoyed him greatly. Especially after he had just woke up.

It didn't surprise him much when Gerald stepped into the room. Derek rolled his eyes as Gerald sat opposite of him at the table, hoping he would get the point. Bags had formed under Gerald's eyes, betraying the fact that he had slept very little if any the night before.

"What the hell do you want, Gerald?" Derek asked.

"Are you ready?" Gerald asked him. Derek just shook his head, already knowing the rest of the question.

"I told you, we're not taking you home," Derek stated, taking a long drag off of his cigarette and blowing the smoke in Gerald's face.

"Dammit!" Gerald said as he fanned the smoke from his face. "I have to get to my family!"

"Well, leave," Derek said. "I was planning on telling you to anyways."

"You really don't care, do you?" Gerald said. "I have a wife and two children waiting on me scared out of their minds. My wife is too scared to leave the house. And since you brought me out here to this shithole..."

"Wait a fucking minute," Derek interjected. "I told you I didn't care where you went. You could have walked your happy ass home just like we did. You're the one who decided to come here. If I would have had my way about it you would still be up at Homer's. Now shut the hell up about it. Just leave. Get out of here."

Gerald's eyes got wide. Derek laughed to himself, seeing the arrogant old man wriggling in his chair.

"L..look," Gerald stuttered. "I don't know my way around here. I've never been to this part of town before. I don't plan on walking around out there like a walking meal for more of those things!"

"Why the hell do you call them 'things'?" Derek asked. "They were just people. Like you and me. Just really fucked up in the head."

"No, Derek," the old man said. "Maybe they were sick, or even delirious, but they weren't just like us. I am not going out there except to go home."

"Listen you old fuck..." Derek started, but Livie burst into the kitchen, sliding to a stop on her socked feet.

"Derek! Gerald!" she said. "You two have to come see what's on the news!"

Postponing the inevitable with Gerald, Derek dropped his cigarette into the can and stood up. Glaring at Gerald for a moment, he turned down the hallway and into the room.

Mrs. Davis was standing in the corner, her hand covering her mouth in shock. Daniel nonchalantly spun a basketball in his hands. Livie took Derek by the hand and jerked him down into the floor with her.

Derek understood Livie's sense of urgency as soon as he caught a glimpse of the t.v. Images of riots in some of the larger cities flashed across the screen as a reporter tried over his fright to explain what was going on. New York and Boston were virtual war zones. Police precincts and sheriff's departments were commandeering arms from gun and pawn shops and deputizing civilians in large numbers. Sporadic clips of riots and murders gave way to clips of the military attempting to regain control. Tanks rolled down the streets, machine guns rattled. A short clip of the Secretary of Defense showed him saying that he was "confident that the police and military elements in and around these cities are making progress in suppressing the instances of dissent. Many of the worst hit areas have already been stabilized."

The most shocking news came from other countries. Iran and Syria had attacked Israel, blaming them for the supposed virus that was sweeping through their countries. In South Korea, an influx of refugees fleeing North Korea were being killed at the border, the victims of over a million land mines courtesy of the United States Military back in the fifties. The entire continent of Africa with the exception of South Africa was in worse disarray than usual. It seemed the whole world had lost their minds.

"I guess Iraq is small news now," Daniel said with a smirk.

"Yea," Derek said. "At least we don't have to worry about those little bastards. For now, at least."

"There was a scientist on there earlier," Livie said as she picked some lint off her socks. "He said that some weird virus is hitting a lot of places around the country. Something like people seem to be dead, but they're not. They get up in some kind of a daze, brought on by a fever I think. He also said there might be some kind of link to rabies or ebola."

"Pfft," Gerald said. "They don't have any idea what the hell is going on. They're just blowing smoke up everyone's asses, hoping that we won't all go ape shit."

"Well, yea," Livie said, looking up at the ceiling paying half-attention, "I don't know though. I'm pretty sure the government will work all this out."

"Of course they will, dearie," Mrs. Davis said. "Then we can all go back to our homes and this mess will be over."

"About going back to your homes," Derek said. "I don't care if you do or not, but I was thinking that it might be a good idea if we all stayed here. But if you do, we're going to need to go to your houses," he looked at Daniel and Mrs. Davis, "and get all the food you got."

Livie frowned, obviously not wanting to be away from her computer and t.v., but Mrs. Davis spoke up for all three of them before she could say anything.

"I think that's a grand idea!" she exclaimed.

"Good," Derek said. "Now, I am going to go over to the store after that. I was thinking that Livie and Philena could go with me. I have a little cash, but I need whatever anyone else can spare so we can have some food. Besides, if shit really hits the fan I would like to have a carton of smokes stashed away."

Everyone was in agreement, except Gerald. With his nose lifted high, he told them he simply didn't have any money to spend on them when his family needed him. _That's fine. He can starve here, maybe then his dumb ass will leave. _

It was decided that Derek and Daniel would go bring the food back from Mrs. Davis' and Daniel's houses. Afterwards, they would pool their money together and buy groceries. Ramen noodles were high on the list, but while Mrs. Davis and Daniel were thinking more practical like canned goods and water, Derek and Livie argued the virtues of chips, sodas, and t.v. dinners.

After their little meeting, Mrs. Davis went into the kitchen to fix everyone a late breakfast. Even though Derek had reservations about Gerald eating his food after refusing to help buy any, he figured he might be able to use Gerald's help sometime throughout the day. If nothing else he could help put the groceries up or unload the truck.

Once everyone had settled down, Derek pulled the revolver out of his pocket and counted the shells. Satisfied that there were still six, he set about getting things ready to leave.

XxXxXxXx

With his hand on the door, Derek turned to Daniel.

"Alright, man, let's go," Derek said as Daniel nervously held the rifle behind him, acknowledging him with only a quick nod.

Derek knew that Daniel was scared, and that if something did go wrong he might freeze again. He didn't care though. It would build character and give him some balls.

Slowly he opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. A quick glance side to side assured him that if there was anyone around, at least they weren't in his general vicinity. Daniel awkwardly stepped out behind him, stiffly swinging the rifle back and forth. Derek chuckled and figured it was something he had learned from watching t.v.

Livie and Philena set out a backpack and a duffle bag behind them once everything was found to be safe. Daniel slid the backpack on, seeing as how he had the rifle, and Derek took the duffle bag.

The two of them made their up the street to Daniel's house first. Daniel had suggested that since he knew his own house, it would be easier for them to search. It didn't matter to Derek. Get the food, then head back to the house. As easy as that.

Daniel's house didn't have a porch like many of the other houses in the neighborhood. Almost on impulse, Derek kicked the front door in. Wood splintered as it fell back onto the entertainment center, knocking the t.v. to the floor.

"Dude!" Daniel said, dropping the barrel of the rifle. "You just smashed our t.v.!"

"Shh!" Derek said as he smiled. Daniel just sighed and shook his head.

"Dad's going to kill us!" Daniel said.

"Shut up Daniel!" Derek snapped back.

"Jerk." Daniel said, letting it go.

Music came from down the hallway as they walked through the living room and into the kitchen. Daniel signaled everything was alright by nodding his head when Derek pointed the revolver towards the hallway. Then they went to work.

The refrigerator and freezer were quickly emptied into Derek's bag. Anything edible or drinkable. When he was done, he noticed he still had room for more. Cans rattled as Daniel went through the cabinets, being a bit selective about what went into his backpack.

"What the hell are you doing?" Derek said. "Hurry up, you're going too slow!"

"I was just making sure that Dad had something to eat if he came home," Daniel said.

"He's not coming home," Derek said, his words stinging Daniel's ears. Solemnly but forcefully Daniel raked all that was in the two cabinets into the backpack.

The trip back to the house was uneventful. Derek wasn't the least bit worried now. It seemed like a normal day, with the exception that it seemed that they were the only people left in the neighborhood. Derek cursed under his breath that Daniel's dad didn't have a gun. He was one of those liberal types who thought owning a gun was wrong. Although he knew how upset Daniel and Livie were he didn't mind their dad being gone too much. Besides Gerald, Scott was probably the most annoying people he had ever met.

Once inside Derek's house, they unloaded the goods on the kitchen floor and the women went to putting everything up. It was then off to Mrs. Davis' house.

Slowly they went up the steps to the front porch. Derek inserted the key Mrs. Davis had given him and then opened the door. Unlike most houses, the front door opened up into the kitchen instead of the living room. Derek sat down the duffle bag and had Daniel go about loading it up while he went and checked the rest of house.

Cautiously he crept down a short hallway into the den. Swinging the pistol in a more natural way than Daniel had when they first left, he scanned the room quietly. Old leather, musk, and cheap air fresheners wrinkled his nose. Fishing magazines and copies of _Reader's Digest_ were stacked neatly on the coffee table in the middle of the room. Derek's reflection loomed back at him from an old, worn out t.v. sitting on a stand on the far wall. Various knick-knacks littered the once free spaces in the room. It made Derek think of his own grandparents.

His eyes went directly to the two closed doors behind Henry's recliner. As he was about to step forward and enter the bedroom, a scratching noise caught his attention. It was coming from the door just to the left of the chair.

Derek's heart raced. Beads of sweat formed on his brow as he trained the pistol on the door. His first impulse was to get Daniel, but he was frozen. Trying to process everything in his mind, he decided to check it out himself. He almost tip-toed over to the door and gently placed his hand on the door knob. Adrenaline pumped into his veins. Suddenly the room seemed very hot to him, his face feeling like it was on fire. With a quick twist and jerk, the door opened.

A black blur bolted across the dark room. Derek screamed, firing blindly. Cans fell to the floor as Daniel ran into the room, the rifle held low in a defensive stance.

"What's wrong Derek?" Daniel almost screamed. Derek laughed nervously.

Slight embarrassment gripped him, his face turning even more red. His foot lashed out in a violent kick.

"Fucking cat," he said as a black ball of fur smacked against the wall, then scurried off.

"Don't do that!" Daniel exclaimed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Just go get everything in the packs," Derek said. Daniel turned and went back down the hallway with a shrug.

All the commotion would have surely given them away now, so Derek opened the other door as quickly as the first. A bed and a dresser were all that greeted him. Smiling devilishly, he pulled the pillows off the bed to reveal the Colt .38 Mrs. Davis had said would be there. The top drawer of the dresser offered him a handful of bullets scattered among the bandanas, cheap cologne, and other odds and ends. Eighteen was the number he had come up with after counting them. After that, he put them in his pocket and walked back into the kitchen brandishing his new toy.

XxXxXxXx

Back at the house, they inventoried everything they had found. All in all, Mrs. Davis figured they could eat well for a couple of weeks so long as no one gorged themselves. No one saw much of a point in going to the store after that, but Derek insisted. Not only did he need a carton of cigarettes, but he also wanted to buy some beer to tide him over.

As the old truck pulled out of the driveway, Philena slid across the seat to cuddle up against Derek, thankful for the time alone with him.

"I think Gerald should leave," Philena said, twisting a lock of her hair around her finger. "I don't like him. He gives me the creeps."

"I don't think anyone likes him," Derek said. "Besides, if it weren't for you he would be dead right now." Philena scoffed.

"Well how was I supposed to know he's an asshole?" she asked. "I just didn't think you needed to shoot him."

"I told him to leave earlier," Derek said. "I think he's too scared to leave on foot. I know if I was at his house I would have been gone a long time ago."

"Derek, are we going to be ok?" Philena asked. The sudden question caught Derek off guard.

"Well, yea," he said. "Why do you think otherwise?"

"I got ahold of Mom while you were at Mrs. Davis' house," she said. "She said the news is saying that whatever the hell is going on is spreading pretty bad."

"Well, if anyone comes to the house, I'll blow the fuck out of 'em," Derek said with a smile. She scowled at him.

"This isn't funny Derek," she said. "I am really scared."

"Everything's going to be fine," he said. "If it was going to get out to Bayside, it would have already."

"I guess," she said, nestling closer to him.

Cars, trucks, and vans filled the parking lot of the grocery store. It took Derek several minutes to find a car backing out for him to park. Once the two of them were out of the truck, Philena took his hand in her's. Although Derek despised holding hands, he humored her.

Inside it was a mad house. All the registers were open and the lines were still backed all the way into the aisles. Derek sighed. All the buggies in the store were taken, so they had to wait once again for someone to check out to get a buggy. Philena began counting her money. She wanted to make sure they were stocked up on beer and cigarettes.

Meanwhile, Derek leaned on the handle of the buggy and looked around. Several people had two buggies, groceries threatening to flow over the sides at any moment. Bread, sandwich meats, and milk were the most common items he saw. Next to that, he saw lots of bottled water. _That's pretty fucked up. I would just get it out of the sink if I wanted it that bad._

Having counted her money, Philena grabbed the front end of the buggy and led Derek over to the beer aisle. It didn't take Derek long to decide on two cases for himself, but Philena was really picky about which flavors of wine coolers she wanted. When she was done, the inside of the buggy was a rainbow of cheap highs.

The line at the cigarette counter was ridiculous. Derek counted thirteen people in front of him. What made it even worse was that there was a little old woman behind the register, and she carded everyone whether they looked sixteen or sixty.

"This is a bunch of bullshit," Derek said. "Why can't they get someone else up here on the register?"

"Derek!" Philena said, then she cast him a mischevious smile.

"What?" he asked. "That old bitch is slower than shit!"

"Hey buddy," a man holding a little girl said. "Do you mind?"

"Yea, I do mind," Derek said. "This is taking way too fucking long!"

"Daddy, this man has a potty mouth!" the little girl exclaimed.

"I know baby, some people are just trashy," The man said as he turned away from Derek.

"I'll show you trashy!" Derek said, throwing his arms up. "Come on, big man! Let's go outside!"

Without even acknowledging Derek, the man stepped out of line and went down one of the aisles. A smile came to Derek's face when he noticed how red the man's face was.

"Bitch!" Derek said loud enough for the man to hear.

When they made it to the front of the line, Derek saw the woman frown as he started loading the alcoholic beverages onto the counter.

"Can I see your I.D. please?" the old woman asked. Derek ignored her until he had everything on the counter. When he did pull his driver's license out of his wallet, he tossed it down on one of the cases of beer so she would have to pick it up.

"I need two cartons of Timber Lights," Derek said.

"I wouldn't be spending all my money on beer and cigarettes at a time like this," the woman said nonchalantly as she handed him his license back.

"Well who asked you?" Derek said sarcastically. Philena turned into his shoulder, trying to stifle a giggle.

"Haven't you been watching the news?" she asked. "Most of the trucks that bring our stock won't be coming until all of this blows over."

"Yea, whatever," Derek said. "We have enough food at the house."

"What did they say about New York and those other cities up north?" Philena asked, pinching Derek playfully on the ass.

"Well," the old woman said, happy that someone wanted to hear something she had to say, "China, Australia, and a few other places have declared they have controlled the outbreak. The government has also said that the military has control, for the most part, in many of the cities that have been affected."

"Well that's good to know," Derek said as he paid for everything. Without another word he loaded everything into the buggy and headed outside.

"You were right!" Philena said as she skipped at his side. "Everything is going to be alright!"

"I told you so," Derek said. "They've got everything under control."

Deep inside, though, Derek knew. Something just wasn't right. Everything wasn't under control.


	5. Something Like That

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 5 - Something Like That**

A tingling sensation rushed through Derek's throat as the beer made it's way to his stomach. Most of the initial fear of being in the living room had faded now that the sun was up. Derek was sitting on the couch, Philena next to him sipping on a wine cooler. Mrs. Davis had found a rather comfortable seat in the recliner. Livie sat next to her on the floor leaning back on Daniel's legs as he stood firm, rifle in hand. As usual, Gerald stayed to himself in the guest room.

The late afternoon sun painted a light mosaic on the wall now, the low light comforting them as it shone through the blinds. They had spent most of the remaining afternoon watching normal t.v shows; music videos, sitcoms, etc. When the six o'clock news came on, Derek flipped over to it and everyone sat in anticipation.

"This is Kelly Darren with Channel Four news," the reporter said. She was a small blonde who looked strangely out of place with her short skirt and busty cleavage. Derek wondered if she was filling in for the other two, probably exhausted over a day straight of reporting.

"In local news today," she continued, "Police reservist and private security companies have aided in controlling the recent chaos which enveloped our city yesterday. Many of the residents of Franklin have many questions regarding the build up of security forces, wondering whether or not they are having any impact whatsoever on the crisis. A statement from Mayor Tipton says that the added forces are just a precaution, and that the update of the no-go areas does not indicate a raised level of activity."

Livie clapped her hands and laughed, looking up at Mrs. Davis who smiled back at her. Derek had noticed that Livie had become attached to Mrs. Davis over the past day. Maybe she just needed that parent figure at a time like this. Chuckling to himself, Derek took another swig and focused back to the t.v

The rest of the local news section was filled with things pertaining to the situation at hand. It detailed shelters for those unfortunate enough to not be able to go back home, food banks which everyone knew would be out of food in the next day or so, and safe spots for anyone trapped in the no-go areas.

Derek couldn't help but watch the little blonde as she gesticulated and annunciated. She could be on there saying that the world was going to exploded in an hour and every single member of the male species would be staring at her legs. The real question was how old was she? Derek imagined that she would have to be at least twenty-four or so to even be considered for a live broadcast on any news station, but given the current circumstances she might have also been an intern. Maybe doing it for some college credits or something.

Philena slid her hand between Derek's crotch for a split second, smiling up at him. She wasn't quite drunk yet, but well on her way there. Derek was on his second beer, hoping to ration them out a bit so he would have some in case it was a while before they were able to leave the house again. Philena, on the other hand had already put away four plus the one she had given Livie.

"In national news, Some members of congress are condemning the use of deadly force when handling the rioters. The use of rubber bullets and tear gas are some of the options they have provided in place of such force..."

"That's crazy," Daniel said. "What do they think that's going to do to someone who's crazy?"

"They just want to save lives, Daniel," Mrs. Davis said. "You cannot fault them for that."

"Yea," Daniel said, "But it's still stupid."

"In related news," the reporter said, "Several arrests have been made in San Francisco regarding the suspected abuse of those thought to be infected with what District Attorney Louis Kilpatrick has called 'a yet unknown sickness'. Among those in custody are two San Francisco police officers, who sources say fired upon and killed a family of four when they charged the officers. Whether or not the family intended any harm to the officers is not known, but in addition to the gun shot wounds, there are reports that other injuries sustained to the victims were potentially fatal."

"Serves the pigs right," Derek said.

"You're so evil, Derek." Livie said as she turned to him. "They were just doing there jobs."

"Yea," Derek said. "They were probably chasing some little stoner or jay walker, then got mad and opened up on the family. I don't care. As long as they get theirs."

"I think it's ridiculous," Mrs. Davis said. "With all this carnage going on, and they want to imprison those who are doing their best to protect us."

"The United Nations have pleaded for calm as efforts to get aid and supplies to many impoverished nations are hampered by incidents of violence at home and abroad. Many nations have reported that they have control of the situation, but the turmoil in the Middle East still rages on.

"Clashes along the Israeli border have won the scorn of many Middle Eastern countries. After the recent declarations of war against Israel, reports of U.S. forces on the ground have been played across state news stations in many of these countries."

As Derek watched intently, Philena jumped up off the couch and grabbed his arm. With little protest, she dragged him towards the hallway. He couldn't help but smile as he saw the look of disapproval on Mrs. Davis' face.

Philena shoved him inside the bathroom and closed the door. Like a wild animal she wrapped her arms around him and started kissing him passionately.

"I haven't had a shower in over a day," she said stroking his cheek. "Might as well kill two birds with one stone."

"I hope you know you're about to get your brains fucked out," Derek said. Philena just giggled and started to undress.

Derek started unbuttoning his pants, but stopped when he looked down at his cloths. Dried blood, dirt, cigarette ashes. It hadn't donned on him how filthy he was until she had mentioned a shower. He slid off his shirt, then emptied his pockets onto the sink; wallet, cell phone, cigarettes, lighter, and finally his dad's keys. The .357 almost dropped onto the floor as he slid his pants off. Philena ducked and giggled as he awkwardly caught it and set it next to the rest of his belongings.

Once they were both nude, Philena turned the water on and bent over, putting her hand under the faucet as she waited for it to warm up. She was careful to position herself just between Derek's legs. When she was happy with the temperature, she pulled the knob on top of the faucet, hot water now streaming from the shower head. They both stepped into the warm water, steam rolling off of it. Derek laughed as he closed the shower curtain behind him.

XxXxXxXx

Derek fell and ripped the shower curtain down when a scream came from the living room. Philena kept asking what was going on as he threw his cloths on. Once he was dressed, he snatched up the .357 and stormed down the hallway.

Livie was standing behind the recliner, tears rolling down her cheeks. The others were all peering out of the window, Daniel with the .22 held tight against his chest.

Derek's eyes widened when he pulled the blinds back. Two men, both covered in blood, were attacking someone on the other side of the street. As the man broke away and tried to run, Mrs. Davis let out a loud gasp. It was her husband, Henry. A gaping wound on his side oozed as he went.

Derek watched on in horror. Would it be worth putting everyone else at risk to go out there and save him? By the time he got there to do anything for Henry, chances were he would either be dead or fatally wounded anyways. Derek had almost resolved to stay inside when Mrs. Davis' voice pierced his ears.

"Henry!" she screamed and ran towards the door. As soon as she opened it, one of the attackers looked over at her and jumped to his feet.

_Dammit you stupid bitch._

Derek pulled her back with his arm, pushing her to the ground. As he stepped out onto the porch he fired two shots into the man's torso. To Derek's amazement, the man didn't even flinch. He stood dumbfounded, and was hardly able to regain control of himself before the man crashed into him. Derek managed to pistol whip the man before they both tumbled onto the porch. Derek's pants suddenly felt wet. At first he thought he wet himself, until a quick glance revealed shreds of skin dangling down on him off the man's stomach.

Almost immediately the man started snapping at Derek's face. He was much stronger than Kyle, and Derek began to panic as he realized he couldn't get the man off of him.

"Help!" Derek screamed. "Somebody help!"

Daniel stepped onto the porch, and just as Derek thought he was going to freeze again, Daniel sprung into action. Red began to blur Derek's vision. He was straining too hard against the attacker. His breathing became more rapid, then he heard the cock-and-fire of the .22. Three shots, Derek counted, and still the man continued. There were some thuds, and the man's weight shifted. Everything was a whirlwind of screams and pain for a few seconds, and the weight was lifted off his chest.

"Come on! Get up!" Daniel screamed at him as he came out of his daze. Already, the man Daniel had knocked off the porch was getting to his feet.

Daniel shouldered the rifle and fired at the other man, now feasting on Henry's dead body. Daniel yelled in anger, leaping off the porch and towards Henry.

"Daniel! No!" Derek screamed, hopping up to his feet. But before he had a chance to react, Daniel kicked the man. As he turned to face Daniel, Derek saw that his face was devoid of all skin, and his arm was had been mangled.

Daniel lifted the rifle, ready for another shot, when the man jumped at him.

"No!" Daniel screamed in anger as the rifle went off, the shot whizzing by the head of the attacker. Fear gripped Daniel as he dropped the rifle, turned, and ran up the street towards his house, the _thing_ in hot pursuit.

Derek moved towards the .357 which had fallen on the other end of the porch when the man grabbed his leg, his mouth agape to tear into it. Derek fell back down, kicking the man in the head as he tried to break his grip. It was then that he looked over and saw Gerald slipping past them.

"Gerald, help!" Derek screamed. Gerald only picked up his pace, running towards the truck.

"You bastard!" Derek screamed at the top of his lungs. "You fucking bastard!"

Gerald jumped in the vehicle and Derek heard it crank as he kicked the man again. Derek jumped, almost pulling away, when he felt teeth bearing down on his shoe. He leaned up, using his momentum to push the man over into the grass and land on top of him.

Derek tried to land a punch, but the rabid creature below him kept clawing and snapping at his face. As he tried to break away, the man grabbed him and slung him back to the ground. Livie was screaming in the doorway now, pleading with Gerald to help him.

As Derek struggled with the creature, a new voice joined the screaming. It was Gerald's. Tires screeched, then a loud crash. Pushing up with all his strength, Derek managed to turn his head. His dad's truck was smashed into the side of the neighboring house. A foot stomped down right in front of his eyes. At first he feared that the creature's partner had returned. A soft thudding could be heard now, and the baseball bat raised into the air then back down. Not hard enough to do anything other than ease his fear.

"Get off of him mother fucker!" Livie screamed as she awkwardly raised the bat again.

Gerald stomped up the steps of the porch. Henry's mutilated body slowly limped across the yard. Livie screamed again when she saw Henry, but continued to beat Derek's attacker.

"Move!" Gerald said as he pushed Philena, who cringed in fear against the door frame, into the house and slammed the door shut.

Henry was getting closer every second. Livie's swings were even weaker now and farther apart as her arms began to fail her.

"Gerald you bastard!" Derek screamed. "Rot in hell!"

Derek managed to head-butt his assailant, but it didn't even seem to phase him. By now Henry had almost reached him. Livie sobbed heavily as she backed away, the thought of hurting Henry too much for her to bear.

Derek managed to roll over on top of the creature now. Once again he pulled away but it had a firm grip on him. Something was blocking the sunlight now. Derek cried for help, knowing it was Henry's shadow. Just as he was sure that he was about to be eaten alive, footsteps came from around the house.

"Come on!" Philena said as she landed a hard hit on Henry's head with a broom. She tried another swing, but Henry stood solid against it. His hand snatched it. Philena stepped back, Henry grunting and clawing at her.

"His head!" someone screamed. "Shoot him in the head!"

Derek recognized Daniel's voice coming from up the road. He knew if he could hold on just a little bit longer...

"No!" Philena screamed as Henry tore into her arm.

"Philena!" Derek said. "Livie, get the gun!"

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she shook her head vehemently. She tried to say something, but collapsed in the corner of the porch, convulsing.

A shot rang out and Henry staggered for a second, then fell to the ground. Daniel was standing a few feet away, rifle in hand. He was careful not to shoot Derek as he maneuvered the barrel into the remaining creature's face. Blood and gray brain matter sprayed the lawn when he pulled the trigger.

Derek rolled over onto the grass, exhausted. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure and sit up. Daniel was standing in front of him, his shirt splattered with blood. Livie was still balled up on the porch, crying wildly.

_Where's Philena?! _

Derek hopped up to his feet and looked around. When he finally spotted her leaning up against the house just as upset as Livie, he saw the blood flowing down her arm. He stepped quickly over to her and ran his hand through her hair, holding her with his free arm.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"It...It hurts..." she said between sobs. Derek's face was flushed with anger now. He turned from her and leapt up the stairs, picking up the revolver. It took two shots to blow the door handle off, and he stormed inside.

Mrs. Davis was on her knees crying hysterically, a hand print across her face.

"Where is he?" Derek asked. All she could do was point down the hallway, not even looking up from the floor.

As he went down the hallway, he noticed the guest room was closed. When the knob didn't turn, he stepped back and after a few kicks splintered the frame. As the door swung open he stepped inside, the revolver aimed high. Gerald was standing right in front of him, his face white with fear.

"Hey...hey!" Gerald said, his voice shaking. "Look, you...you don't have to do this..."

"You left us out there to die you mother fucker," Derek said.

"What good would it have done if all of us had died, huh?" Gerald asked. "I...I..."

"Fuck you," Derek said as he pulled the trigger. A small red dot appeared in the middle of Gerald's forehead, blood pouring down his face.

"Derek!" Daniel said as he stepped into the room, watching Gerald's body fall limply to the ground. "You killed him!

Derek just looked back at him, his hands beginning to tremble now. He couldn't find the words to describe what had happened. He couldn't even get a bearing on his own thoughts. After what had just happened, the fact that Gerald was dead didn't even register in his mind.

"But it was in self-defense, right?" Daniel asked.

"Yea," Derek said. "Something like that."


	6. Against One Another

**Author's Note I have just taken a second job to secure some extra income, so it might be a bit longer between updates, but rest assured I will finish this story. Thanks to all of those who have supported me and read my story!**

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 6 - Against One Another**

Derek walked back into the living room, still spattered with blood, and sat down heavily in the recliner. Mrs. Davis was still sobbing heavily on her knees next to him. On the couch, Livie was doctoring Philena's wound the best way she knew how; with alcohol and an make-shift bandage. Daniel leaned up against the wall in the hallway.

"You... you shot him didn't you?" Livie asked, getting a subtle nod from Derek.

"How... how could you?" she said. "All he was doing was trying to get home to his family!"

Derek remained silent. Anger was building up in him once again. If all of them weren't so stupid, circumstances would be a lot different. He wouldn't be facing a possible murder charge, his dad's truck wouldn't be wrecked, his girlfriend wouldn't have been hurt, and maybe there wouldn't be two dead bodies laying in the front yard and one in the bedroom.

"Listen to me you mother..." Livie started.

"Shut the fuck up!" Philena said. "He deserved it, the stupid bastard."

"Well what about Henry!?" Livie screamed, Mrs. Davis beginning to cry more heavily.

"What about him?" Philena asked, pulling away from Livie and wincing at the pain she felt pulsating up her arm. "He fucking bit me!"

"Maybe it you hadn't..." Livie said.

"All of you shut the hell up!" Derek said, throwing his hands up into the air. "If all of you weren't so fucking stupid, then maybe none of this would have happened at all! First Mrs. Davis has to open the fucking door and scream at them..."

"He was my husband!" Mrs. Davis screamed at him as she raised her balled fist.

"Shut up!" Derek said. "He was already dead. There's no way we could have helped him, but you had to open the damn door and get all this shit started. Then Daniel has to go play hero and drops the rifle. You had a fucking gun," he turned to Daniel, "and you dropped it!"

"Then you and Philena," he pointed at Livie, "couldn't even pick up a fucking gun and shoot it!"

"I tried to help you!" Livie said.

"By how?!" Derek asked. "By tapping on him with a baseball bat? I'm sorry, but a fucking bullet would have done a lot more to it I think!"

"I didn't know to shoot him in the head!" Livie screamed. "I saw you shoot him and it did nothing!"

"You could have fucking tried," he said. "If it wasn't for Philena finally getting off her ass I would probably be dead by now!"

"You know what Derek?" Livie said. "Fuck you. Maybe we would all be better off if you had fucking died!"

"Oh really?" Derek asked. "Well whose house are you in? Whose food are you eating? Who the hell is the only one with the balls to go toe to toe with those fuckers, huh?"

"Just...just leave me alone!" Livie screamed, then ran down the hallway. Everyone could hear her cries even as she buried her face in a pillow.

"Dude," Daniel said. "Just chill out. This isn't cool. It was really messed up, but no one can change it now."

"You just need to leave me the hell alone," Derek said. "All of you."

With that, Derek walked into the kitchen. His hands weren't shaking anymore, and his clarity of mind had returned to him some what. The sobs coming down the hallway began to get on his nerves. He understood that all of this must have been very hard for Livie to endure, but why was she being such a baby about it? Nothing could be changed. If the cops had been called, everyone with the exception Mrs. Davis would be going to jail for murder or attempted man-slaughter.

"Fucking crazy," Derek mumbled to himself as he opened the refrigerator and grabbed him a beer.

XxXxXxXx

An on-the scene report on the local news had, in a nutshell, said that nothing had changed except for some of the "no-go" areas had been updated to the yellow "cautious" areas. Derek was well into his eighth or ninth beer. His belligerence had kept Mrs. Davis and Livie at bay since the argument earlier, leaving only Daniel and Philena.

For most of the night Daniel had kept to himself. What had really surprised Derek was how he had refused the beer that was offered to him. The only reply Derek could get of him as to why he didn't want a beer was that Daniel just didn't think it was "cool".

As far as national news went, most of the cities that were once under "quarantine" or "no-go" were now said to be stable. Mexico, however, was another story. Mexico City was apparently worse off than New York City was during the first day. Many reports and satellite images gave the impression of an almost post-apocalyptic scene. Buildings were aflame, military units were buckling under the "infected" and bands of militants alike, and refugees had spread out over a hundred miles around setting up camps.

"Infected". Derek thought that term was absurd. Anyone with any intelligence at all could see that these were creatures. The kind that had haunted mankind's dreams for millennia. The undead. Zombies. Army of the damned. Whatever name the stories, movies, and myths had given them were irrelevant. Earth had been consumed not by a plague or a biological agent, but by the walking dead.

Derek was fixing to turn off the news to find more recreational viewing when a scientist popped up on the screen. Channel Four had began handing the last half of their program over to the national new agencies. Instead of the blonde intern, another blonde now graced the screen. She was much more classy than her Franklin counterpart, and the glass windows overlooking some major city Derek could only guess the name of were a welcomed change from the white background from the local news station.

"Good evening, Dr. Stott," the reporter said. The scientist was a younger man, looking to be not too far out of school. While they made small talk, Derek noted that he didn't sound too confident in either himself or what he was about to say. Derek watched intently as the man began adding what he could to the situation.

"Remember," the man said. "that we have only been able to study the matter for a little over a day. What appears to be happening is that a virus or bacterial infection is indeed responsible for the rash behavior of those thought to be infected."

_Well no shit. Haven't we already figured that out? _

"How does this seem to be transmitted from person to person?" the reporter asked.

"While we are not certain how this started," the scientist said, "we have deduced that it is most likely transferred through bodily fluid. Saliva, blood, etc. Most of the subjects we have studied have been the victims of bites from those infected."

This last statement hit Derek like a ton of bricks. Every noise seemed to fade away as he looked over at Philena.

Thankfully she was asleep. Derek worried she had heard what the scientist said but was satisfied she had not when her soft snoring caught his ear. She had complained about feeling very tired, and cold. Mrs. Davis has said that it was probably a fever, which everyone almost at once subscribed to. Remembering the bags under her eyes and the pale color her skin had began to turn, Derek now knew that this wasn't so.

_Shoot her in the head. Now. Make it quick in her sleep. Maybe..._

"Derek, did you hear that?" Daniel asked. "Philena..."

"Shut up, Daniel!" Derek said, then nodded towards the kitchen. Both of them stood and left Philena to her slumber.

"What are you going to do?" Daniel asked.

"I...I don't know." Derek said, although he already had a course of action in mind.

"Are you going to kill her?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No," Derek said as he awkwardly plopped down into the chair, the effects of the beer beginning to take it's toll on his coordination. "At least not yet. That guy on t.v. might have things all fucked up, and maybe she will get better. I don't think so. Personally I think we should blow her brains out now..."

"You can't do that!" Daniel exclaimed, pacing back and forth across the kitchen floor.

"I know, I know," Derek said. "I'm not. Listen, you should go back into the room..."

"Derek, Daniel!" Livie yelled as she stomped into the kitchen. "The news said..."

"We already know," Daniel said as he let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head.

"About the how the virus spreads...?" Livie continued.

"Yes!" Derek said in a loud whisper. "Now keep your mouth shut! I don't want Philena to hear."

"Why not Derek?" Mrs. Davis said as she walked in behind Livie. Her eyes were still puffy and bloodshot from hours of crying. It seemed that she had regained most of her composure now. The usual look of warmth that radiated from her face was gone now. Whenever she looked at Derek and Daniel, he stare was like ice. If one could kill with a look, those two would have been dead a hundred times over.

"You don't want her to know that you intend on killing her like you did Henry?" Mrs. Davis asked.

"Don't start this shit again," Derek said. "If you're so pissed off about it why don't you just go call the cops?"

"I did," she replied. Derek's eyes widened and anger consumed him until Livie spoke.

"The lines are all busy," she said.

"I hope you burn in hell," Mrs. Davis said.

"I probably will," Derek said as he shrugged, happy they had not gotten through to the police station. "Anyways, back to what matters here and now. You all heard what was on the news I guess. I don't want to kill her, but I don't want her killing me in my sleep either. What do you think we should do?"

"If it was me," Daniel said, "I would tie her up and if she tried to bite anyone, then I would shoot her in the head." Ever since Daniel told Derek how he'd bludgeoned the undead attacker with a shovel in the head, that was his answer to everything

"You can't do that to her!" Livie said. "That's just cruel!"

_Since when was protecting yourself seen as cruel? _Derek liked Daniel's idea, but he didn't want to risk an outright mutiny right now if he could help it. As he saw it, he still called all the shots. And while he didn't mind too much if everyone went to their respective homes, a part of him wanted to keep them near. So for now, he decided to agree with Livie and keep them from thinking of him as an outright murderer. As things now stood, he could argue self defense.

"You're right," Derek said, keeping his voice low. "I will watch her and..."

"And you will kill her?" Mrs. Davis said.

"No dammit!" Derek said. "I will watch her and if anything happens, I will handle it."

Mrs. Davis started to retort, but Philena's moan caught all of their attention.

"Derek?" she asked, her voice low and weak. "Livie?"

Mrs. Davis turned and went into the living room. Derek jumped up out of his chair, almost tripping over his own feet in his altered state. He just knew that Mrs. Davis was going to tell her about what the scientist said, and in her anger tell her that Derek planned to kill her. His tension was eased when he walked around the corner and saw Mrs. Davis sitting next to her, stroking her brow.

"It's ok, dearie," Mrs. Davis said. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"My arm..." Philena said. "It burns so bad. My whole body hurts. Can I have some aspirin?"

"Yes, you can," Mrs. Davis said. "And you can also have some antibiotics that young Daniel got from my house. That should start working in a day or so." With that, Mrs. Davis nodded to Livie, who went to fetch the medicine.

"Derek... where's Derek?" Philena asked.

"I'm here," he said from the doorway.

"Derek," she said, sobbing quietly. "Am I going to become one of those things?"

"No, baby, you're not," he said. "Mrs. Davis is taking good care of you."

"Come hold me," she said. At first he hesitated, Livie walking around him and giving Philena the pills and a glass of water.

"Now drink all the water," Mrs. Davis said. "This fever is dehydrating you something fierce."

Philena slowly put the pills in her mouth, then took a drink of water. It seemed that she had to fight to get the water down as she took a few gulps. Derek was nervous about getting around her, worried about getting sick himself. Finally, he went and sat down beside her on the couch, nudging Mrs. Davis away. He ran his fingers through her hair, careful not to get his fingers near her mouth.

"It's ok, girl," Derek said. "I'm here."

"Derek, I'm scared," she said.

"I know you are, baby." he said. "Just get some sleep, and everything will be better tomorrow, ok?"

Philena mumbled something, and after a few moments she was asleep at Derek's side. Although Derek let everyone think she would be alright, he already knew what would happen. Trying to take his mind off it, he turned to Livie and Daniel.

"Let's go outside and move the...bodies...around back," he said. "We might not be able to give them a proper burial, but at least we can do something for them."

Of course Derek was deceiving them. He didn't care about burying them properly. It was more to keep any curious passers-by from asking questions.

"I think that's the best idea you have had all day," Mrs. Davis said coldly. "You three run along, and I will watch over her."

Derek nodded to her, then led the others outside.

XxXxXxXx

It had been dirty work getting all three bodies into the backyard. At first all three of them had attempted to lift the corpses and carry them, but it quickly changed to just Derek and Daniel. Livie couldn't handle it. Although he knew she probably wouldn't be able to do much with the shovel, he sent her to the backyard to start digging the grave, which was a good thing seeing as how she was still angry with him over what him and Daniel had done to Henry.

It bothered him a bit that she was so angry with him, and all Daniel got was a light scolding. After all, Daniel was the one who had pulled the trigger. He was used to people being mad at him, but what bothered him so much about Livie was that it was done to save everyone. Not just Derek. She didn't seem to understand this, or refused to understand it.

Once they had buried all three of the bodies, everyone went back inside and took turns showering. Livie was first, of course; followed by Daniel and then Derek. By that time it was getting late, and Daniel led Livie and Mrs. Davis back into the bedroom. Derek was satisfied when he heard the door lock click, and set about his vigil.

Philena tossed and turned much of the night. Although she mumbled and moaned throughout the night, she didn't wake up. Derek sat in the recliner, the .357 in his lap. He had also found the .38 under the couch where Mrs. Davis had hid it when Gerald began to demand she give it to him earlier that day. Derek was a bit remorseful about being so hard on Mrs. Davis after learning that she had possibly saved his life, but it was passing. After all, everything that had happened was her fault anyways.

Exhaustion threatened to overtake him as he sat there, watching one of the music video stations on the digital cable. The fight earlier that day had taken it's toll on him. As the hours wore on, his muscles began to ache, especially his arms and stomach. The aspirin didn't help, and the effects of his beer had worn off a couple of hours before. All things considered, he figured it would be in his best interest to try to stay sober for at least the night.

Derek thought about everything as the music bombarded his senses. How could all of this be happening? The gravity of the situation began to sink in as he thought about the events of the past two days. This wasn't just a crisis that would be handled by the police and military. It wasn't an epidemic that the CDC would find a cure or vaccination for in the next few days. It was a fight for survival.

Some people on the news were already throwing around words like "apocalypse" and "end-times". Derek thought that this was absurd. This mostly came from the right-wing conservatives. The liberals liked to say that it was possibly the effect of over-pollution, or maybe even some virus that had escaped from a lab somewhere.

They were all stupid, Derek thought. Whenever any type of crisis occurred, rest assured that both sides of the American political machine would be out in force to blame whatever had happened on the other. The only beneficial thing, which would be to work bi-partisan to come up with a strategy and solution, always seemed to allude the various congressmen and party members. It seemed that blame was always the best course of action in their minds. If it was someone else's fault, then whenever the crisis was over, perhaps that could secure them some votes.

Derek's train of thought was broken when he heard Philena tossing and turning over the music. Out of instinct he snatched up both pistols and pointed them in her direction. Her face was buried in the pillows, making it impossible to see her face. Under the blanket, her legs thrashed violently.

He shook his head in defiance, thinking that he would not allow this to happen. He wouldn't allow her to become one of those things. If she did, he would not allow her to feast upon his friends. This was his responsibility, however he chose to look at it. She was his girlfriend, and he had assured the others that he would handle it.

Almost as suddenly as she had began to convulse under the blankets, she stopped. Derek leaned forward in the recliner, looking for any signs of life. There were no sounds of breathing and although he couldn't be sure, he was pretty confident that her back was not rising with the air her lungs should have been inhaling.

She was dead. Derek stared at her in disbelief. Had it really come to this; that his girlfriend had died on his very couch? What would he tell the others? Surely they wouldn't believe him. Mrs. Davis would have her two cents to add to it, and Livie would follow along with whatever she had to say. Daniel would stand by him. He might be a little nieve and all, but he would...

A violent jerk, then a snap of the head. Philena was looking directly at him now. First she looked as if she were dazed, like she had forgotten where she was. Her eyes finally focused on Derek, and a sense of recognition flicked in her eyes. Derek had almost lowered the guns when she let out a piercing shriek and lunged towards him.

"What the hell..." he managed to get out before he opened up with both guns. Bullets ripped through her body, yet she continued to advance, until one hit her on the left side of the head. Derek would remember the hit forever. Time seemed to stand still for a second as her eyes got a distant look in them, blood spraying the wall behind.

Slowly, she dropped to her knees. Her hands extended forth, and Derek couldn't tell if she wanted him to hold her or if it was a last act of defiance. After what seemed hours, she fell face first in front of him. Derek had dispatched her, or whatever she had become.

Whatever feelings of sorrow and regret that might have entered his mind had fled as he stood up over her. He looked down on her and shook his head.

"That's for my car, bitch," he said as he heard the bedroom door opening and the footsteps of the others running down the hallway.


	7. Exodus

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 7 - Exodus**

"This is crazy!" Mrs. Davis said, tears pouring out of her eyes. Daniel tried to calm her down, but she jumped back and glared at him in accusation.

"Don't touch me!" she said. "I'm... I'm going home!"

Philena's blood seemed to cover the entire living room floor. Daniel had draped her body with a blanket from the linen closet. Derek had been contemplating taking her out and burying her with the others in the backyard when Mrs. Davis flipped out.

"Well get the fuck out!" Derek yelled at her, careful to keep the guns pointed at the floor. "Go on! I'm getting tired of your shit! You're fucking crazy!"

"No!" she screamed back at him, then her voice got low as a resemblance of calm returned to it. "No. You...you're crazy. You're the one who...who has killed at least three people, maybe more."

"Well go home then!" Derek yelled, moving towards her and giving her a stern shove.

"I will need food," Mrs. Davis said, having already considered the possibility of returning to her house more than once in the past few hours.

"You need food? Well let me go get you some!" Derek said, then stormed off into the kitchen. After tossing the guns onto the kitchen table,he ripped open the refrigerator door. Without even looking at the items he pulled out, he turned and almost knocked Daniel over on his way back to Mrs. Davis.

"Derek..." Daniel started.

"Not now dammit!" Derek said, then turned the corner and slung the goods at her. A plate busted right in front of her feet, the spaghetti it had once held found it's way onto her pants and shoes. A box of baking powder hit her hard in the face. She winced and stepped back as Derek stepped towards her.

"Is that enough?" he asked, getting in her face. "Or do I need to throw a fucking brick to get you to leave?"

Livie stared down at Philena's lifeless body, oblivious to the screaming of the others. She tried to grasp the gravity of the situation. The last couple of days seemed like a bad dream, one that she couldn't wake up from. To top it all off, the only three people she had left were at each other's throats.

If she hadn't cried so hard for Henry earlier she might have some tears for Philena, but not now. She was exhausted. For two nights she had hardly slept, and what little sleep she had gotten was troubled with worries and nightmares. She didn't even raise her head as Derek slammed the door on Mrs. Davis.

Daniel brushed past her on his way to the window, watching her as she went home. For a brief moment Livie contemplated going with her, but she couldn't go out there. Not after what had happened the day before. What would she do if something happened while she was at Mrs. Davis'? Surely Derek would keep Henry's gun, and Livie doubted he would be willing to let her use it.

She got up off her feet and walked down the hallway. Derek was still yelling and cussing to himself. She anticipated him to call her name, to ask her if he had done anything wrong. It was only wishful thinking, though. She made it to the bedroom and closed the door without interruption, then fell onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow.

It was a childish thing to do, she knew, but it was engrained into her psyche. Every time her dad would make her mad, or anytime something didn't go the way she wanted it to, she would retreat to her bedroom and cry herself to sleep. In the past few months she had been a bit ashamed of doing it. Daniel had told her that it was just part of growing up. She hoped he was right.

Instead of crying this time, though, she laid there and began to think.

Even though her mother could care less about her, she still wondered about her. She had built a new life for herself after leaving her first family. A new husband, two new kids, and even a better job. Even though she rarely called Livie and Daniel at Christmas or sent a birthday present, Livie hoped she was ok.

But where was her dad at? Was he ok? This was probably the most frightening thing of all to her. He might have been a strict and sometimes overbearing man, but she knew that had he been there when everything happened that it somehow would have turned out better than it had. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. He probably wouldn't have killed the people that had attacked Henry. No, he valued the lives of others too much, but he would have made sure they were all safe.

Derek wasn't afraid to fight these things, and she knew that. But she didn't think we was much of a leader, either. The only reason he had the authority to make any decisions was that they were in his house. In all reality, he was a jerk.

Her feelings towards him were bordering hatred after what had happened to Henry. Livie loved the him and Mrs. Davis so much. She had been going to their porch to talk with them for as long as she could remember. Now Henry was gone, and Mrs. Davis had left.

What if all this was just a virus? Or maybe even a parasite? Maybe if she had knocked Henry out, then she might have gotten Derek and Daniel inside. The police would have come to take him away, and then a cure would be found and everything would have been ok.

But Derek wouldn't have any of that, she knew. Even if Daniel hadn't killed him, Derek would have. In Derek's mind, the only thing that mattered was principle. _His principle_. Henry had attacked Philena, but did that warrant his death if he was sick? By Derek's principle, yes it did. He was unstable. Livie couldn't predict what he was thinking. No one ever could. Essentially, he was loose cannon just waiting to go off.

She felt safe with him, nonetheless. If she couldn't have her dad, then she would gladly settle for him over Daniel and most definitely over Gerald. Over the years, she had seen how he could be. Tact and cool-headed might not have been words to describe him, but resourceful and daring were.

The events of the last few days played in her mind over and over again, and it frightened her even worse to think about it. If she had her cds or her computer, maybe she could cope with things a bit better. She had thought to tell Daniel to go get them, and almost did a couple of times, but it she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if something happened to him. For now, she was content commandeering Derek's room and all of the accommodations that came with it.

A news report, telling of increased activity in and around Franklin, echoed in her ears as she sank into a deep sleep.

XxXxXxXx

Livie was awakened by Derek's yelling. She rolled over and looked at the clock. It said seven forty-eight p.m. She had been asleep quite a while, and even though sleep still clouded her vision and a slight throb pounded in her head, she already felt more rested.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," she heard Daniel say. From the way it sounded they were in the living room.

"Well I didn't ask you if it sounded like a good idea, now did I?" Derek said.

"But what if someone does make it out here?" Daniel asked.

As much as she hated to, Livie lifted herself up and crossed her legs. Putting her head in her hands, she began to wipe the sleep out of her eyes. After sitting there for a few seconds, she decided that she needed to get up.

She dreaded going back into the living room, but she was hungry. With a quiet whimper she got out of bed and went to the door. Once she opened it, a shadow moving on the opposite wall of the hallway startled her. She jumped at first, then sort of recognized it as Daniel's shadow. After realizing this, she smiled to herself in embarrassment, thankful that Derek and Daniel hadn't seen her.

The two of them were still arguing when she walked out of the hallway. Putting off her urge to eat for a bit, she stood there and listened to them.

"All I'm saying is that if it's that bad downtown," Daniel said, "why the hell do you think that it's going to be safe enough to go anywhere else?"

"It's a lot fucking better idea than staying here!" Derek said, standing where Philena's body used to lie. Apparently, from the way the coffee table had been moved to the side of the room, they had taken her outside or to the garage possibly.

"You can go home, too!" Derek continued. "I don't give a fuck. But you sure as hell ain't staying here when I leave."

Livie's face took on a look of confusion. The word "leave" stuck in her head, and she was unable to comprehend what Derek had meant by that. _Where would he go? How would he get there? Wait a minute. Where would I go?!_

Suddenly she snapped out of her momentary stupor and lodged herself right between Derek and Daniel.

"What are you talking about?" Livie asked Derek, putting her hands on her hips in an aggressive gesture. "Where the hell are you going?"

"I'm not too sure," Derek said, "but I am getting the hell up out of here. The governor just declared martial law in Franklin and some other places. They are saying that everything is under control, but I think the shit's beginning to hit the fan."

"But they also said they were sending out teams," Daniel interjected. "to the parts of town that were unaffected to make sure whatever is going on doesn't spread."

"And you fucking believe them!" Derek said, throwing his hands into the air, "They've had the whole police force, the National Guard, and private contractors. If they couldn't keep this shit contained with all that, then how the hell do you think they are gonna stop it now?"

Livie stepped back and stared at the two of them. Mentally, she pleaded for Daniel to back down. While his intentions were good and his points valid, she really didn't want to see him and Derek get into a confrontation. While Daniel was very healthy and stout for his age, Derek would kill him.

She had seen that vein pop out on Derek's neck before. She had seen him smoke a whole pack of cigarettes in a couple of hours before. Derek was getting anxious. Maybe even scared. To be honest, she was getting stir-crazy staying inside the house herself. But where would they go?

"All I am saying is that we might want to wait and see how things turn out," Daniel continued.

"Wait and see how long it takes for some more of those fucks to make their way here?" Derek replied. "You're fucking stupid. You need to carry your ass back to the house and 'wait and see' how long it is before someone busts your door in and takes a chunk out of your neck."

"You kicked my door off the hinges!" Daniel yelled at him.

"Stop it!" Livie screamed at the both of them, her temper beginning to flare. "Just stop yelling at each other! Hasn't there been enough fighting?"

"Why don't you just shut up?" Derek said, pulling his cigarettes out of his pocket and lighting one. "This doesn't even concern you."

"Like hell it doesn't!" Livie said, then pointed a finger at him. "And I'm getting tired of you storming around ordering us around! Who gave you the right to make any decisions for us?"

"You better get your little ass back in that room before..." Derek started.

"Before what?" Livie asked, bucking up to him. "Are you gonna hit me? Or shoot me in the head like you did Gerald?"

Derek stood his ground but went silent for a second, taking a hit off his cigarette. She had put herself in a situation she really did not want to be in. She hoped that he wouldn't hit her, but she couldn't be sure. Her whole body was shaking now, her muscles tense in anticipation; just waiting for him to knock her to the floor.

Then something changed in his eyes. The smoldering anger was still there, but it has softened. The tension left his muscles as he looked down on her. Livie had bluffed him, and she had won.

"You better watch your fucking mouth," Derek said.

"Tell me," she insisted "where the hell are you going?"

"What fucking business is it of yours?" Derek said defiantly.

"Derek," she pleaded, "I'm scared, and me and Daniel can't make it if something like what happened to Henry happens again."

"If you have to fucking know," Derek said spitefully, "I'm heading up into the country. The people on the news are saying that there's some places up there that haven't been fucked up."

"But how are you going to get there?" Daniel asked, stepping up beside his sister.

"I don't know," Derek said, "But any way is a lot better than sitting here waiting to be be eaten."

Livie pondered the idea. Derek was probably right about the martial law decision. At least two of those things, excluding Kyle, had gotten into the neighborhood even before they declared it. She didn't want to stay there. The prospect of leaving the house scared her to death, but being alone with those things possibly getting closer scared her worse.

"I'm going with you," she said.

Derek gave her a credulous look.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Daniel said.

"I don't really care what you think, Daniel," she replied, turning to face him.

"You're not going," he said, glaring at her.

"Oh fuck you, Daniel," she said. "Just because Dad isn't here doesn't make you my boss."

Her arms went straight to her hips as she glared back at him. She had gotten very good at putting on this front. Her body was still shaking, but she knew she couldn't let them see how terrified she was. She refused to be the little girl that had frozen in tears when Derek was fighting off those monsters. She had to be strong.

"Derek," she said, "Please, take me with you. I don't want to stay here."

Derek just stood there, looking at her. Live was about to break down, her eyes welling up with tears. Just before one rolled down her cheek, Derek spoke.

"If you want to tag along, that's fine. But you will need to keep up. I'm not putting my ass on the line to save your dumb ass."

"But..." Daniel started, then conceded. "Fine. I guess we're going with you."

"Well you two had better get your asses in gear!" he said. "I plan on leaving in about an hour before all this martial law shit gets too deep. You need to find those bags and pack some food in them. I'm going to get the guns ready and see how much shit I can scrounge up."

With that, Derek turned away from them and walked down the hallway. Daniel looked at Livie and shook his head.

"You know I hate you right?" he said sarcastically. All she could do was roll her eyes and go into the kitchen to fulfill the hunger that was growing in her stomach.

XxXxXxXx

Livie's feet began to throb by the time they had made it to the store. Derek had only let her spend a few minutes in her house to gather some of her things before shoving her and Daniel out the door, and the only pair of shoes she could find both of were brown sandals. They were cool and comfortable on her feet in warm weather like this, but they could be painful when trying to keep up with the light run Derek forced them to maintain.

A few cars had passed them as they made their way to the main road. Derek tried to hitch a ride for them in the back of a truck, but the driver kept going, causing Derek to fire the .38 into the air a couple of times.

Livie could understand the driver's caution though. If it was her she wouldn't stop for anyone, except for Daniel or her dad. The bundle of cloth in Daniel's arms, sadly trying to conceal the .22, probably didn't help matters any.

Her little back pack had was weighing heavily on her shoulders now, too. Derek was carrying most of the food in the duffle bag, and Daniel's backpack had the rest of it along with some small things like matches, a flash light, and some of his personal effects. Thusly, she was free to pack pretty much whatever she wanted in hers. While some food or drinks would be much appreciated if they couldn't find any for some time, she opted instead for her portable cd player, some cds, cloths, some make-up, and other odds and ends.

Daniel had scolded her at the house for packing things that he didn't "think were necessary", but she just shrugged him off. After all, it shouldn't be too long until all of this was sorted out. She might as well have a few luxuries.

The grocery store was hectic as they entered the parking lot. Cars had began parking in the lanes, on the curbs, and even on the main road. It seemed for every person that ran out with a buggy full of goods, three more were rushing in.

Derek led them to the front of the store and leaned up against the wall, smoking a cigarette. Daniel quietly did the same, but after the rush he had been in to get out of the house Livie couldn't help but wonder why they were just standing there.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked Derek.

"Just shut up and wait," he said, blowing smoke in her face.

She wanted to smack him as she fanned the smoke out of her face, but she along with Daniel had figured out that it wasn't the best time to rile Derek up. Setting her back pack on the ground, she leaned against the wall and watched the people as they scurried around.

A woman in a motorized cart caught her eyes. She must have weighed five-hundred pounds easily, the cart apparently pushed to the limit to get her to the front door of the store. She couldn't help but giggle at the spectacle, even though she felt a little remorse.

As she continued watching the woman enter the store, Derek tugged on her arm. She turned to him to notice he was watching a young couple getting a baby out of the back of their Chevy Tahoe. They were an average looking couple. The man was slender, and wore khakis and a polo shirt, while the woman was a definite bleach-blonde, sporting capri shorts and a tank top.

The man hefted the baby onto his shoulder, and they rushed across the parking lot. It was a little girl, presumably by the pink blanket she was wrapped in. Livie couldn't help but admire the little one as they passed her. She was a beautiful baby. Livie wondered if...

"Come on," Derek said as he lugged the duffle bag across the parking lot.

Livie looked at Daniel in confusion, but picked up her back pack and they both followed him. Derek reached the Tahoe and opened one of the back doors, tossing his stuff into the seat. He then nonchalantly opened the driver's side door and hopped in.

"What the hell are you doing?" Daniel asked him, coming to a dead stop a few feet away from the truck.

"They left the keys," Derek said, pulling them out of the ignition and holding them up for the other two to see.

Livie became very angry. While they were standing in front of the store, Derek was watching the cars. He was waiting for someone to leave their keys. That had probably been his plan all along.

"Derek, this is wrong," Daniel said. "What if we get caught?"

"Who the fuck's going to catch us?" Derek replied as he cranked the engine. "The police are all trying to keep those fucks in town from breaking out. Now get in!"

"They have a baby!" Livie yelled at him, pointing to the car seat in the back.

"Look, it's either them or us right now," Derek said. "And as far as I'm concerned, I want to get my ass out of here. Now get in or I'm leaving you!"

Derek edged the truck forward and cut the wheel, serious about what he had said. Livie growled loudly and walked over, pulling the front passenger side door open. She dropped her back pack in the floor board and got in. When she closed the door, she locked it and scooted as close to it as she could. Daniel loaded all of his stuff in the back seat and sat behind her.

"You're going to hell," Livie said, her head turned towards the window.

"I know," Derek said as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed north.


	8. The Long Road

**Author's Note This chapter is a little rough. When I do the rewrite, I plan to add a bit more dialogue. I have been very busy lately, so I hope that this little offering is enjoyable. I am really excited about the story, as this chapter is sort of the turning point of everything. A change of place, new characters, and a broader understanding of what's going on. Please R&R!**

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 8 - The Long Road**

Derek flicked a cigarette out the window as he glared at the road sign. Now Entering Tennessee.

They had been driving for three hours with little incident, seeing only one of those things emerge from a house to give a short chase moments after they left the grocery store. It seemed that the further they got from Franklin, the more normal things became.

The little country roads Derek was forced to take when the highways were congested were at first almost as bad, but one they got into some of the rural counties the traffic thinned out considerably as most of the travelers made it back to their homes.

Moonlight dimly lit the parts of the road not touched by the headlights of the stolen Tahoe. Luckily, Derek had filled the gas tank up with most of the money he had left at a small country gas station. Livie snored softly next to him. For the first couple of hours, she had stared out the passenger side window, sulking. Derek was glad when she finally went to sleep. Her attitude had put him in an even worse mood than he had been when they left.

Daniel had taken out the car seat and set it behind him. Although he was sprawled out in the seat, he was wide awake. The entire time they had been in the truck, the .22 hadn't left his grasp.

_Now where the hell do I go from here? I don't even know where I'm at. Those bastards should have sold maps at that chicken shit gas station._

This felt like the longest ride Derek had ever taken. Every turn and hill made him tense up a bit in anxiety, expecting a road block looking for the stolen truck or a scene much like the one at Homer's each time. So far, all that awaited him was open road and an occasional farm house.

His eyes were beginning to feel heavy. Any other time he would have had Daniel take the wheel while he took a nap, but not under these circumstances. Derek just knew that if he did that, he would most likely wake up in a wrecked car with someone trying to pull his entrails out the passenger window. As much as he hated to, it was time for him to find somewhere to stop for the night.

But where? Surely any place civilized enough to have a hotel would most likely be in the same predicament as Franklin. By the same token, he didn't much like the idea of parking in a secluded spot either. It seemed that every option he had at the moment was just a disaster waiting to happen.

Watching the trees and fences slide by his peripherals, he heard Livie stir. With a deep yawn, she sat up and looked around for a moment as if she were trying to get her bearings.

"Rise and shine," Derek said sarcastically, looking at her with a mock smile. Livie looked as if she were about to come back with some snide comment of her own, but shook her head.

"Where are we?" she asked, allowing a lull in the silent treatment she had been giving Derek.

"Tennessee," Derek said.

"How the hell did we get here?" she asked. Her eyes widened and her head cocked to the side in surprise.

"I guess we drove," Daniel said, never raising his head.

"I knew that," she said with a growl. "Are we anywhere near Chattanooga?"

"I don't know," Derek replied, hoping she would shut up.

"Well where are we going?" she asked. Derek pursed his lips and furrowed his brow.

"Dammit, I don't know!" he said sternly. "Why don't you go back to sleep, and maybe when you wake up we will be somewhere."

"You're such an ass, Derek," she said, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Well I'm tired and the last thing I need is your constant bitching," he replied.

Livie just shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. If there was one thing Derek hated, it was someone asking the same question over and over again. Daniel wasn't that way, he just asked stupid questions, or made ignorant statements. Despite this, Derek sometimes wished he had more to say, but it just wasn't in Daniel's personality.

As the night wore on, Derek's ability to fight sleep got weaker and weaker. Out of all the places in the world he had to drive through, it had to be some podunk rural community, if you could even call it that.

It wasn't that Derek absolutely despised the country, they just didn't have anything. The gas station he had filled up at was the first one he had seen since leaving Franklin, and any type of restaurant was non-existent. He reasoned that there was probably one down a side road, but he didn't want to risk getting lost in a place like this, especially at a time like this.

Suddenly, a light on the road ahead caught his attention. Livie started pointing and talking, but he managed to tune her out. As they got closer, he could discern a small steeple rising from the building behind. It was a sign, and the black letters shot out at him like a bolt of lightening; "Sanctuary Here, Come Pray With Us".

Apprehension gripped him as he slowed almost to a stop, eyeing the church. They weren't his favorite places by any stretch of the imagination. However, as long as everything panned out, he would at least be able to get a couple hours of sleep.

"Hey," Daniel said as he sat up and leaned over the seat, "Are we going to stop here for the night?"

"I don't know," Derek said. "I'm pretty fucking tired, but I don't want to get myself into some 'Deliverance' shit, either."

"Do you think they will know about us stealing the truck?" Livie asked.

"I doubt it," Derek scoffed. "If they haven't gotten onto us by now, I doubt they will here in some backwoods church."

Livie and Daniel continued to talk, but Derek contemplated his next course of action. It was late, and although things had seemed pretty normal for the last few hours, he really didn't want to risk any kind of encounter in the middle of the night. The sign in front of the church alluded to the fact that whatever had happened in Franklin and around the world was popping up here. They had three guns, one for the each of them. If things seemed a little shady they could always shoot their way out of the situation. It was decided.

Cautiously he turned the Tahoe into the parking lot of the church. There he counted seven vehicles of various makes, none of them looking too new. There was a spot between two cars just to the side of the entrance of the church, so he backed into it in case they needed to get out of there in a hurry.

Before exiting the vehicle, he took the rifle from Daniel and gave him the .357 to stick in the top of his pants. The .38 was the only weapon they had that he figured Livie could fire with any remote sense of accuracy.

"Leave the food and everything else in here," he said as he watched Livie put the .38 in her backpack. "Hopefully they will have some here that we can eat."

"But what if they are short on food?" Livie asked.

"Fuck 'em," Derek said, opening the door of the truck. "They are close to their homes, we aren't. It'll be a lot harder for us to find food than them. Now come on."

With that, the three of them exited the vehicle. Derek held the keys in his hand and started at them for a second, making sure not to leave them in the Tahoe before locking the doors. As they made their way up the small sidewalk along the side of the church, Derek noted out of his peripherals that some of the blinds in the windows had fingers pulling down on them. They were being watched.

Derek was about to knock on the door when it swung open. A heavy-set man wearing a flannel shirt and jeans met his gaze, two men similarly clad standing behind him, brandishing shotguns. Livie let out a short gasp. Derek knew that she and her brother wouldn't be much help if there was any sort of altercation. The tension was so thick for a few seconds that it could have been cut with a knife. Finally the heavy-set man spoke.

"W...welcome to Riverset Baptist Church," he said, wiping sweat from his wrinkled brow. "Are you in need of help?"

"We were heading North and saw your sign," Derek said, nodding to it. "We have been on the road for hours and were just looking for a bite to eat and maybe somewhere to rest for the night."

Normally, Derek's speech would have been littered with expletives, but he knew a bit about how to talk to "church people". Normally he wouldn't care if they ran him off and never wished to see him again, but right now he needed them. For the time being, he could play their game. It should just be for the night.

"What are you doing with the gun?" one of the other men asked.

"The same thing you are doing with yours," Derek said. "I am protecting my little brother and sister."

"You'll have to leave it outside, or hand it over to us before you come in here," the man replied. "We have families, too."

"Not a chance," Derek said.

"Then you need to leave," the man said calmly.

"Now, wait a minute," the heavy-set man said. "These people are in need of our help, and..."

"Brother Dave, we can't risk..." the other man started.

"And..." Dave interjected, turning to face the man. "As pastor of this church, it is my duty to do the Lord's will by giving these people aid. I understand your concern, but these are very troubled times. Most of the men here have guns, so it is not unusual that this man has one as well."

Derek couldn't help but smile. Although he didn't have to speak much, his little facade had worked. The two men angrily parted as Dave ushered Derek and his companions into the church. Derek was watchful of the two of them, expecting them to go for his gun at any moment.

Once they passed through the front door, there was a set of double doors and then the sanctuary.A couple dozen people occupied the pews. Some were praying, others were crying. Just to look at them they seemed like pretty decent folks. Some of the women were dressed in very plain dresses, and what few men there were dressed in blue jeans and a mixture of plaid, flannel, and button-up shirts. It did Derek's heart a little good to see the three young children, two boys and a cute little girl, playing together despite the circumstances.

All their heads turned to see the newcomers. Derek could see greetings in some of their faces as well as distrust and anxiety. A middle-aged woman in a blue dress eyed Derek's gun warily. For the second time, Dave broke the awkward silence.

"Alright, everybody," he said in a straight-forward manner, "I know everyone is upset and scared right now. I understand your concerns, but before anything is said I just want it to be known that these three people are guest and I expect that you treat them as such. Are there any questions?"

Derek anticipated for the whole congregation to be in an uproar, but it seemed that they respected their pastor's judgement. Dave then began to introduce everyone there to them. Mostly there were families and couples who attended the church. A few others Derek surmised had wandered in for protection, judging by the way they sat alone by themselves.

The woman in the blue dress, whom Dave introduced as his wife Karen, stood up and walked over to them. The smile on her face was forced, and her voice was ripe with apprehension when she spoke.

"There's some food downstairs," she said, clasping her hands in front of her. "I can go fix you some if you are hungry."

"That would be nice," Derek said, then quickly added "Thank you."

The woman scurried off and the man who had confronted them at the door stepped over to them. His face still betrayed his concern over them, but he seemed to be cordial.

"Where are you from?" the man, Jerry, asked.

"Franklin," Derek replied.

"Where is that at?" Jerry said.

"A few hours south of here," Derek said. Daniel and Livie stood behind him, mute. "Things got pretty bad there, so we picked up and tried to find somewhere safe until this entire thing blows over."

"Pfft," Jerry scoffed. "I don't think anywhere is safe right now. We are all here trying to keep away from those things. The whole other side of the ridge is crawling with them."

Derek sighed to himself. He hoped that this place would be safer than Franklin, but from the looks of things, the police force maybe had two or three deputies. They were probably all dead or would soon be.

"How far away is that?" Daniel asked.

"About ten miles," Jerry said coldly, then he leaned in to where only Derek could hear him. "Just so you know, I wouldn't try anything funny here. I have a wife and a child and I won't think twice about putting some triple-lock buckshot right into your chest."

Derek was boiling as Jerry walked away. He didn't like to be threatened. Just as he was about to walk over and confront him, Livie grabbed him by the arm.

"What did he say?" Livie asked, sensing something was wrong.

"He's just being an ass," Derek said. "I think it would be in our best interest to eat, get some rest, then get the hell out of here."

"I think you're right," Livie replied. "I don't feel too safe here, out in the middle of nowhere."

"But there doesn't seem to be a lot of people living around here," Daniel interjected. "So we might have a better chance of defending ourselves here than in a place like Franklin."

"Maybe," Derek said, "But I don't want to risk it. These people don't seem to friendly, and I wouldn't put it past some of them to give us the shaft if it came down to it."

Karen was walking back down the middle aisle now. Derek shushed Daniel and Livie as she came closer to them, hoping that no one had heard what they had been talking about.

"Come with me," she said. "I have got you a room set up downstairs in the Sunday school rooms."

She turned quickly, and they followed her. Outside in the lobby, there were two sets of stairs on either side that lead down to the lower floor of the church. Derek had a hard time keeping up with Karen. It was obvious that the sooner they were out of her hair, the better for her. At the bottom of the stairs was a hallway, with five doors on either side. She led them to the third door on the right. It was a small room with a medium-sized table in the middle, surrounded by chairs. A book case on the left side of the room boasted several copies of The Holy Bible. Outside of this, the only other thing visible to Derek was three plates of food sitting on the table.

"I have set up some blankets and pillows over there in the corner," she pointed. "If you need anything, I will be upstairs with the others. Please, make yourselves at home."

After she stepped out of the room, Derek hopped down and picked up a piece of fried chicken off his plate and bit into it. As he chewed, he eyed the baked beans and mashed potatoes.

"Well, she's not very friendly," Livie said, sitting across from Derek.

"Nope," Daniel said as he joined them.

"Like I said," Derek said, "We're getting out of here tomorrow."

With that the three of them devoured their meals. It hadn't been too very long since they had last eaten, but it had been long enough for them to be hungry. The meal was very reminiscent of the food Derek's grandmother used to cook when he was a small child. It passed through his mind that in a time like this, fried chicken would have been one of the last things on his mind to cook. In a place like this, though, they probably had an abundance of it coming from somewhere.

Once they had finished their meal, Derek kicked his feet up on the table and closed his eyes. Daniel grabbed a blanket and curled up on the far side of the room, sleep overcoming him in a matter of moments. Livie got her cd player out of her backpack and put the headphones on, the music just loud enough to keep Derek from drifting off.

Derek jumped up when he heard footsteps coming down the hallways. Livie threw her headphones off when she saw Derek swing the .22 towards the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Dave said as he stepped into the room, raising his hands. Derek lowered the .22 and let out a sigh of relief. _What does this dumbass want?_

"I didn't mean to startle you," Dave said as he walked in and sat in the chair beside Derek. "Was the food enough? We have more if you are hungry."

"Yea, it was pretty good," Derek said. "Is something up?"

"Oh, no no no," Dave said as he shook his head. "I just wanted to find out where you came from, and if things are as bad there as they are here."

"Trust me," Derek said, "Things aren't near as bad here as they are in Franklin, where we came from."

"Is that so?" Dave asked with sincerity.

"Yes," Livie said. "There were all these...undead...things... running around and they killed people and..."

Livie's eyes welled up at this point. Derek hadn't noticed, but she had been handling everything a lot better since Philena had turned. Talking about it seemed to have stirred up a whirl wind of emotions inside of her, and put her head down and sobbed quietly.

"It's been a rough few days," Derek said in response to Dave's look of concern. "We have lost a few people, and we can't find our parents."

"I am sorry to hear that," Dave said. "I will remember you all in my prayers."

Derek nodded and cracked a half-hearted smile. He wished that Dave would go away and leave him to his rest so that they could wake up and be on the road again. His hopes were dashed though as Dave began to speak.

"Things are pretty bad on the other side of the ridge," he said. "Many of the people here live there, and they keep telling us about the dead rising up and attacking the living. I know you might think I am crazy..."

"No," Derek said, "I have seen it with my own eyes. It's alright." Dave smiled, apparently thankful that Derek didn't think he was some sort of loon.

"Well," Dave continued, "I will let you get some rest. If you need anything at all, just come and find me."

"We will," Derek said.

"Alright," Dave replied with a smile. "Have a nice evening."

"Yea, you too," Derek answered as Dave turned and left the room.

"Hopefully those fucks will leave us alone now," Derek said as he laid the rifle in his lap and put his feet back up on the table. After a few seconds, he noticed Livie still sobbing heavily. Try as he might he couldn't tune it out. For a few minutes he sat there hoping that she would cry herself to sleep, but when that didn't work he opened his eyes.

"Could you please shut the hell up?" Derek asked. "I can't sleep with all your whining."

"Fuck you Derek," Livie said, turning her back to him. "You are just an asshole that doesn't give a damn for me or Daniel or anyone else. I don't even know why we came with you."

Derek started to snap back at her, but stopped himself. What Livie said had struck a chord in him. He didn't know what exactly, but he felt a bit sad for her. She had been through so much in the last few days. Derek sat there silently, hoping that she would drop the whole thing. It didn't take too long for her to turn back to him with tear stained cheeks.

"Derek, did you love Philena?" she asked him.

Derek was taken aback by this question. It was very sudden, and he hadn't really thought about it. It only took him a couple of seconds to give her an honest reply though.

"Not really," he said distantly.

"What?" Livie almost screamed at him. "Then why the hell did you go save her from Homer's?"

"I don't know," Derek replied. "I guess she was good in the sack."

"That's so mean, Derek." She said. "How the hell can you be so cold about it? Do you care about anyone besides yourself?"

"I kept you and Daniel with me, didn't I?" He stared at her. Livie tried to find the words to respond, but she couldn't.

They stared at each other for a good while. Derek meant what he implied by the statement. He couldn't help but realize that he cared deeply for Livie and Daniel. They were perhaps the last people that he knew that were still alive. It wouldn't have mattered though. There was just something about them that made him want to protect them. Maybe it was the fact he had known them almost their whole lives, or maybe it was that they were so naive and innocent. He didn't really know.

The moment the two of them shared abruptly came to an end when there were shouts coming from upstairs, followed by footsteps. Derek yelled at Daniel to wake up, and then dashed out of the room with the .22 in hand. Livie was close behind him as he ran up the stairs, carrying her cd player and backpack.

Everyone was crowded around the windows in the front of the church. Some people were crying hysterically, and others were cursing under their breath. Derek pushed his way through a group of people and looked outside.

A young girl, probably not much older than Livie, was dodging her way through a group of five or six of the undead. Derek's heart skipped a beat when one of them grabbed her, causing her to let out an ear piercing scream. By some stroke of luck she managed to pull away from it before the others caught up to her.

She checked the doors of three cars before finding one that was unlocked; an older model Honda Accord. Almost jerking the door of the hinges, she leapt into the car and slammed it shut. The creatures began beating on the windows shortly after she locked the door.

"What are we going to do?" One of the people said out loud.

"Someone needs to go out there and help her!" Another answered.

"But what if those things get inside?" yet another person said.

Derek stood there listening to them argue back and forth. He didn't exactly like the idea of opening the door and going out to fight a whole pack of those things. If there were any more of those things lurking about, it would probably be suicide for someone to go out there. Derek stepped to the back of the group, trying to determine whether or not they could make it to the truck.

Livie caught a glimpse out of the window and put her hand up to her mouth, trying as hard as she could not to cry. She buried her head into Derek's chest, beginning to sob again. Derek didn't know what to do. With his free arm he wrapped it around her awkwardly. As he squeezed her lightly, Jerry ran over to the door.

"Well I'm going out there!" he exclaimed, then opened the door and stormed out with the other man close behind him.

Derek watched through the window as the two of them blew three of the creatures to the ground with their shotguns as they turned from the car to come seeking new prey. Derek figured once the they began to stand up, the men would surely aim for their heads. This wasn't the case though. As the girl screamed at the top of her lungs, the frightened men fired blindly at them.

Derek watched in disgust as the bullet-riddled corpses stood back up. Something darted past him in his peripherals. As he turned to the door, he saw Daniel run out, his gun in hand.

"Dammit!" Derek said as Livie screamed for her brother. Derek dashed out after him, taking the safety off of the rifle.

Just as soon as he exited the church, one of the undead was creeping up behind Daniel as he fired a shot into the head of one of the creatures surrounding the car. Derek broke into a run and kicked the creature square in the center of the back. It tumbled, rolling over to show Derek it's rotting face before he put a bullet between it's eyes.

_Why hell are these moving so slow? The others were faster and stronger than these..._

Jerry and the other man stepped behind him, trying as fast as they could to reload their shotgun. Stepping up beside Daniel, Derek took aim at one of the last three shambling towards them. They were in a very advanced stage of decay, and the shriek he had heard from Philena was instead replaced by a low moaning.

"You're a fucking dumbass!" Derek yelled at Daniel.

Derek made the heads of two of them snap back while Daniel used his last shell to dispatch the final one. When they were all on the ground motionless, Derek kept the rifle raised and surveyed the are. From the looks of things, they had taken care of all of them in the immediate area.

Daniel rushed over to the car door and got the girl to unlock it. When she did, Daniel opened the it; surprised as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her crying could probably be heard a mile away.

"Hurry up and get inside!" Derek barked at them all. They might have stopped the threat for the moment, but he knew that more would come.


	9. Baptism By Fire

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 9 - Baptism By Fire**

"What the fuck were you thinking?" Derek said as he smacked Daniel on the back of the head.

"What the hell do you mean?" Daniel asked, his arms wrapped around the shoulders of the girl as she cried.

"You almost got your ass eaten!" Derek said. "You should have stayed here in the fucking church!" Derek could hear the gasps of some of the women and little children at his colorful language . It didn't matter to him, though. It was getting close to time to get out of there, no matter how tired he was.

"Like you!?" Daniel shouted. "Leave her out there to die and just watch. I could have stood here and watched my own back, just like you. I might not be tough or as good with a gun as you are, but I'm tired of watching you screw everyone over!"

"You are fucking stupid!" Derek screamed at him. "Next time I'll just let one of those fuckers eat you! No, better yet, I'm just going to leave. Give me my fucking gun."

The entire church was silent, save for the soft sobbing of Livie and the hysterical crying of the girl Daniel had just saved. Derek was shaking, every thread of his being overcome with emotion. Daniel had infuriated him by calling him out in the first place, let alone in front of all these people. But when Daniel had ran out of the church, he had also scared him worse than he had been scared since all of this started.

The two of them stared each other down. Derek was ready to knock Daniel to the ground for being so stupid. It had become apparent to Derek that Daniel had no intention of giving the gun back. He shot out his arm, snatching Daniel's wrist. Just as Daniel started to move, Derek head-butted him over the top of the girl's head. She screamed as the gun fell to the floor. Derek was cautious of Daniel as he snatched it up, watching him as he staggered back.

Jerry had his shotgun aimed right at Derek's chest when he rose. Derek just stood their, eyeing him before he spoke.

"Drop the guns, boy," he said, "I'm not going to have this crap going on. Now drop it!"

"Fuck you," Derek said as he stepped back towards the door. "I'm getting out of here."

"Where are you going to go Derek?" Livie asked him, putting her arms around Daniel's chest.

Derek could feel the other people in the church staring through him as he confronted Jerry and Livie. He managed to scan the faces of a few of them before his eyes settled on the girl. It was the first time he had gotten to get a good look at her. She was pretty petite, with black hair. Her shorts and white t-shirt were covered in dried blood. As he stood there and watched her cry, he couldn't help but feel a bit of remorse for being so hard on Daniel for going out there to save her.

But Daniel had still called him out, and he was stupid. What if the girl had been bitten? Or what if he had been bitten...

Derek didn't even want to consider this thought. It would be in everyone's best interest if he just left. Completely ignoring Jerry's threats, he turned and walked through the double doors. Just as he was about to open them, there was a pounding at the door. Derek jumped and looked back as most of them jumped to their feet, Jerry changing the target of his aim from Derek to the door.

"Dave! It's James Carp!" a voice said from the other side. "Open up!"

Dave almost jumped from the group of people scurried over to the door. Everyone tensed up as he unlocked the dead bolts and opened it. Just as soon as he did, a tall man wearing blue jeans and a leather jacket stepped in. Upon further inspection, Derek noticed that it was a Sheriff's jacket.

"Sheriff Carp," Dave said as he closed the door back and locked it. "What's wrong?"

"Those things are coming!" Sheriff Carp said, sweat dripping from his forehead onto the hardwood floor below. "Right behind me! Quick, everyone to their cars!"

It was as if someone opened the cage at a bull run as everyone broke for the door. Derek was almost trampled in the onslaught, being shoved up against the wall as everyone except Daniel and Livie passed him. They both looked at him almost in regret. Derek shook his head, still livid over what Daniel had done. He knew he wasn't leaving without the two of them, however, and tossed the .357 back to Daniel.

"Next time I'll fuck you up," Derek said as Daniel winced, almost as if he were slapped.

Screams filled the church, coming from the front door. Turning to see what was going on, Derek saw Dave and Sheriff Carp closing the doors and locking them as many of the congregation stepped back; some in shock and others cursing under their breath.

"What's going on?" Livie asked, echoing Derek's thoughts.

"They're everywhere!" a woman shouted.

"What are we going to do?!" Another asked.

It was pandemonium. Everyone was frantic. It took a few seconds for what everyone was saying to register in Derek's mind. A loud, heavy pounding began at the door. It wasn't like Sheriff Carp's, this was more frantic. Something had seen them, and it was hungry. It was trying to break the door down.

"Grab some pews and shove them up against the door!" Sheriff Carp ordered them. The older man reminded Derek of a modern day Matt Dillon the way he sternly but calmly spoke. Many of the men, including Daniel, began to stack pews up against the front door. Derek noted that the mystery girl had remained close to the sheriff since he arrived. They probably knew each other or had come from the same place.

The sheriff took his 9mm out of the holster and popped out the clip, examining it. Apparently it was at least partially full, and he slid it back in. He stopped Dave and spoke with him for a second, then Dave went to the back of the church to check the door there. Sheriff Carp then stood up on one of the pews remaining in the sanctuary and spoke.

"Alright everyone listen up!" he said in a slight southern twang. "Hey! Now listen up. We need to keep calm. There's dozens of those things out there. I radioed Madison City for some help, and that was three hours ago, so someone should be getting here within the next few hours. Until then, we need to sit tight!"

_A few hours. Yea right. Try never. Even if there's anyone left alive there, they are probably just as bad off as we are._

"We can hide downstairs!" Jerry said, "Maybe they will go away if they can't see or hear us!"

"No!", Sheriff Carp exclaimed, "They won't go away, trust me. I have already tried that. They know we are here, and if we go downstairs it will be a death trap."

"We can lock the doors," someone else replied.

"If they break down these doors up here," the Sheriff said, "What makes you think that they won't be able to break those down there?"

This was ridiculous. Derek had already seen what those things could do to a city the size of Franklin. The gun shots had probably already attracted every one of them in a five mile radius. It would be suicide to hide here and wait for some dream of a rescue. They needed to take action.

"We need to get the hell out of here," Derek said, "This place isn't safe anymore, and I wouldn't sit here with your thumb up my asses waiting for someone to drive down a zombie-infested road to save them."

Zombie. That was a term Derek hadn't even thought to use. It normally conjured up in his mind some of the horror movies he had seen years earlier. It was supposed to be a media call word. Something to draw the crowd out to spend a few dollars at the movie theatre. For a brief second he couldn't help but be amused at the irony of what all was happening, even in the face of the sheer terror he had felt.

"You're crazy!," Karen said. "If we go out there we will all be killed!" The crowd started to grumble, talking amongst themselves. Derek knew they didn't want him there now and whatever he had to say wouldn't get very far with them, but he had to talk some sense into them. He couldn't help it that they were stupid.

"He's right," Daniel said, stepping beside him. Derek turned and felt a small bit of remorse when he saw the red mark on Daniel's forehead, even though he deserved it. It would bruise tomorrow. If there was a tomorrow, that is.

"The town we lived in was a hundred times bigger than this," Daniel continued, "and it only took three days for things to get out of hand. I don't think anyone is coming."

When Daniel said this, some of the women, holding the children tight as the pounding on the door continued, began to cry. Threats and insults were hurled their way as Sheriff Carp tried to regain control of the situation. Livie grabbed Derek's arm and pushed herself against him, afraid that the sudden outburst was aimed at her as well.

Suddenly, another sound joined the pounding at the doors. Derek turned to see bloody hand prints covering the bottom of one of the windows. Then another joined them, and then a fist. Livie gripped him tighter and he exchanged a glance with Daniel. Karen broke down right in front of them, and Dave moved to comfort her. Jerry moved towards the window, his shotgun drawn.

"No!" Sheriff Carp said. "If you blow that window out than they will get in here for sure!"

Jerry turned to him for a second, then looked hesitantly back at the window. The little girl and one of the boys were bawling now. The older lad, who looked to be somewhere around ten or eleven, tried hard to hold back his tears.

Almost all at once every single window began to vibrate. The Sheriff wasn't exaggerating their numbers a few moments before. Derek counted ten windows, plus the door. That meant that at least eleven of those things were outside. From the sounds of the pounding, and the shrieks and moans you could hear in the brief lulls in the screaming inside, he judged there were more. A lot more.

"I don't want to die," Livie said as she pulled Daniel close to the two of them and buried her head in his chest. Daniel laid his cheek on her head and stared across the sanctuary blindly.

"Well come on," Derek said to Daniel, "You wanted to play Mr. Hero earlier. What's your big plan now?"

"I...I don't know," Daniel said as he clutched his sister tighter.

"What was that?" Derek said, coming to the sudden realization that he only had five shots left in the rifle, and that Daniel was out. He cursed to himself when he remembered that all the ammo was in the Tahoe.

"I said I don't know, ok!" Daniel yelled at him. Derek backed off when he saw the terror in Daniel's eyes as he looked up.

Glass shattered. Derek looked to where the noise had come from. An arm was sticking in through a busted window in the front of the church. Sheriff Carp pushed Jerry out of the way just before he fired the shotgun, keeping him from blowing the window out totally. The sheriff swiftly drew his 9mm and fired a shot through the window, and that hand slid back out of the window as it's owner apparently crumpled to the ground.

The girl they had saved earlier was at Daniel's side now. She had her hands clasped in front of her like she didn't know what to do.

"What's your name?" Derek snapped at her. Her eyes went wide. It seemed as if she hadn't forgotten what Daniel had said about Derek leaving her to die.

"A...Alicia..." the girl said in a shaky voice.

Derek just nodded to her. If nothing else, he wanted to be able to put a name with the story when he had to remind Daniel how he had head-butted him when he tried to buck up to Derek.

Everyone began to run to the back of the church when two more of the windows gave way. Sheriff Carp yelled for them to stay behind him as he readied another clip and fired out the window, stepping back towards the others. Jerry and the other shotgun-toting man, Chuck, flanked him on either side. Another man Derek couldn't remember the name of stepped up beside them nervously loading his single-shot .22 pocket pistol.

Wood splintered as the door busted off the hinges and the pews scooted back a few feet.. Screams and gunshots greeted the zombies as they burst in. The first two staggered awkwardly towards the throng of people, but the three behind them were fast. Buckshot and ratshot sprayed the front of the church. Although one of the zombies, a younger woman in a bloodied nightgown, was blown back, it didn't stop her or the others.

A well-aimed shot from Sheriff Carp felled one of the faster ones as it tumbled over the pews stacked in front of the door. As Derek looked outside the door past the ones already inside, he could see more of the zombies shambling towards the them. Derek shoved Livie to the back of the church, swinging the .22 around, although he wouldn't use his ammo unless one of the three of them were in danger.

"Livie," Derek yelled, keeping his eyes on the animated corpses pushing their way through the spray of bullets, "Give Daniel the .38!"

Derek could hear her as she rummaged through her bag. A few seconds later, Daniel was beside him aiming the gun towards the zombies.

"Don't shoot unless you have to," Derek said, "We don't have enough ammo on us for you to be wasting it on someone else's worthless ass!"

The sound of another window breaking caught his ear amid the din in the church. Looking over to his left, he saw a woman being shoved down; one of them was on top of her in an instant, taking a chunk out of her neck. Daniel swung his gun around, but Derek grabbed it and shook his head.

"Oh my God!" Livie screamed as she clutched Derek's back, watching as the creature failed to react to the 9mm rounds pelting it's upper back. Derek heard the sound of a door opening behind him. Turning to the door, he saw some of the people running out of the back door. More still were frozen with fear. Derek's heart began racing. This was bad. Really bad.

"Come on!" he yelled to Daniel and Livie as he dashed towards the door. One of the men who had exited before him let out an anguished yelp. Just before Derek got to the door, one of the zombies stepped through. Derek had just enough time to throw the rifle across it's chest.

This one was strong, like the first that he had encountered. It pushed him back a few feet, trying to pull the rifle from Derek's grasp as it gnashed at his at his face. A barrel came past his face. The explosion was deafening, causing Derek to close his eyes. When he opened them, Daniel was standing beside him, the gun trembling in his hand.

People were rushing by them now, trying to make it out of the door. Sheriff Carp was yelling back towards them as he and the others tried to keep the monsters at bay, but no one could hear him over the chaos unfolding before them.

After trying to shake off the effects of the pistol fire, he grabbed Livie by the hand and led her a few feet towards the door. Daniel seemed to snap out of a daze as he suddenly followed in behind them. When they were a few feet from the door, Derek stepped in front of Livie and led them out into the night.

A desperate struggle ensued outside. Luckily, most of the zombies were preoccupied with some of the people they had managed to wrestle to the ground. The truck was on the other side of the building, and past the hoard of zombies feasting on or fighting with their prey, more still made their way out of the shadows.

Derek led them in a mad dash for the truck. Sheriff Carp and Jerry ran past him, trying their best to knock or shoot the zombies off of their friends. Derek stopped to try and find a way through the carnage. A sudden compulsion came over him to look behind him towards Daniel and Livie. One of them was in a dead run, it's eyes fixed on Daniel and Livie. Daniel yelled and Livie screamed, putting her hands over her ears when Derek whipped the rifle up and fired. The first shot struck it in the shoulder, and as he was readying for the second something grabbed him from behind.

"Fuck!" Derek yelled, flipping a once-beautiful girl over his shoulder. Her face had been mauled and she let out a scream just before he stomped down on her head. The sound of bones cracking and brain matter being squished into the dirt made his stomach turn, but there was no time to be vomiting.

The zombie that had been moving towards Daniel and Livie was laying just a few feet in front of them, it's head blown across the grass. Chuck was standing beside them with his shotgun still raised.

"Come on!" Derek said as he ran through the battle. He used two more shots on a zombie that tried to bite him as it crawled across the lawn, it's legs having been gnawed to the bone. They had made it to the edge of the parking lot. Not too much further to go now.

"Help!" he heard Jerry scream. Had he not been right in front of him, Derek probably wouldn't have taken notice. He watched as two zombies began tearing into his chest. The shotgun was laying beside him with shells strewn about. Derek guessed that he must have been reloading when they jumped him. Derek turned and handed the rifle to Livie, then jumped over to Jerry.

"What are you doing!?" Jerry screamed as Derek snatched up the shotgun and a few handfuls of shells. Derek's assumption that the zombies would keep their attention on the wriggling man was correct, and Jerry screamed for Derek as he pulled away from them and went towards the truck. _Bastard._

Just a few feet from the truck Alicia was standing still, her head in her hands. The man with the pocket pistol fired a shot into one of the zombie's heads, then dropped the gun and began to wrestle with another.

"Damn!" Derek said, "Get to the truck!" Derek shoved Alicia back, Chuck having to push her along. He didn't stay around to see the man get swarmed by more of the creatures.

It didn't take him but a moment to pull the keys out of his pocket and unlock the door when they reached the truck. The zombies had already began to converge on the truck as everyone piled inside; Derek and Daniel in the front and the others in the back.

He started the engine and was just about to pull out when his turned on the headlights. There, just in front of the truck, a zombie was tearing the entrails out of Dave, whose face was white with shock. Karen screamed out a few feet behind them, the youngest of the boys clinging to her dress.

"Damn damn damn!" Derek yelled. The zombies were on all sides of the truck now, but far enough away for him to make it to the boy. Maybe.

He wanted to leave, to get away from there as fast as he could. But something stopped him. Something couldn't let him leave with that little boy out there. If the voices and screams of the people in the truck hadn't been so loud, he would have thought it through and left. Instead, he did the first thing his mind processed. He grabbed the .38 from Daniel and opened his door.

"If those fucks get to close," he said, "get the hell out of here!"

Before anyone could say anything, he hopped out and ran over to them. Stopping just inches from Dave, he raised the pistol and fired a shot into the head of the zombie. Karen screamed again, the little boy convulsing in tears.

"Get your ass in the truck!" he yelled at the boy, "We're getting the fuck out of here!" With a hard pull, he managed to get him to move and with the speed only a terrified child can muster he bolted over to the truck and crawled inside.

"Come on!" Derek said to Karen. Her hand covered her mouth as she stood there, looking down as her husband began to get up. Derek could see the hunger in Dave's eyes when he looked up at them. With a quick jerk of the wrist and squeeze of the trigger, Derek put a bullet in his head.

"No!" Karen screamed, then began to beat him in the chest. Derek could see the zombies just feet away from the Tahoe. There wasn't anytime for this. Seeing as how he didn't really like her anyways, he got a little satisfaction when he punched her in the nose. As she fell back, he scooped her up in his arms and ran back to the truck.

Sheriff Carp was firing shots over the top of a small foreign made car as he stood at it's passenger's side door. Derek saw two or three people get inside out of the corner of his eyes.

"Follow us!" Sheriff Carp said just before he joined the others already inside the car. Derek wasn't even paying attention, though, as he reached the door.

"Stupid bitch," he said as he tossed her inside, almost on top of the little boy. As soon as he closed the door, hands began beating on the driver's side window. He slammed the truck in drive and whipped out into the road just behind Sheriff Carp and the others, mowing over several corpses before speeding away from the church.


	10. A Night In Jail

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 10 - A Night In Jail**

Although Derek had gotten his fair share of speeding tickets, he was finding it hard to keep up with Sheriff Carp and the others. The brute power of the Tahoe just wasn't a match for the little import on the back roads. A couple of times he thought he had lost them, only to see brake lights flash in the distance.

Derek reached up on the dash and grabbed his cigarettes and lighter. It had been a good while since he had smoked, and now that his adrenaline rush was wearing off a bit he needed something to fill the void. That's always how it seemed to work with Derek. He loved to smoke, but even when he didn't have an urge or a craving he would use it to substitute for something. Food, sleep, happiness; just about anything you could think of.

As he lit it up and rolled down the window, Daniel turned on the radio. Derek thought this was a really ignorant idea seeing as how they were trying to chase a car at night with dozens of flesh eaters on their tail. Normally he would have just flicked it back off, but the incessant crying of the women and child had really gotten on his nerves. Even Chuck let out a slight whimper from time to time.

"Turn that shit off!" Derek yelled at Daniel.

"I am trying to see wha..." Daniel started.

"I don't give a fuck," Derek said, turning the knob. Daniel turned his head and looked out the window like a scolded dog.

"Why can't you stop with all the language and the insults?!" Karen screamed at him, still holding the tail of her dress over her bloodied nose, "Aren't you worried about your soul?"

"The only thing I am worried about," Derek said, "Is getting the hell away from those things. If you're so worried about peoples' souls then why don't you just shut the hell up and pray or something?"

"There's a little kid present," Chuck said.

"You can shut the hell up,too," Derek replied.

"Just... just leave him alone," Livie said through her sobs, "when he get's like this there's no talking to him."

Karen mumbled under her breath as she turned her head, and Derek seriously thought about giving her a another taste of his fist. It was very tempting to him. Law didn't seem to be the order of the day anymore, so whenever someone got out of line he could knock them to the ground, or even shoot them if they had done or said something really stupid. He still had to think about the sheriff though.

"Dude, look out!" Daniel yelled and pointed to the road. A man with a chunk of flesh missing from his shoulder stepped out from the woods.

"Oh no!" Karen said, "Billy!"

Derek didn't care if she knew him, or even if he was undead or alive. Someone had once told him if you ever got in a situation where a deer jumped out in front of you not to hit the gas or brake pedals and to keep the wheel straight. Livie let out a scream and thrust her hand out on the back of the seat ahead of her as the vehicle neared the man.

"What are you..." Karen said.

Everyone jerked forward a bit as the man's body was flung in front of them with a loud "thud". Karen and the boys' screams fell on deaf ears as the Tahoe rolled over him, the sound of the body being crunched under the Tahoe's weight making her retch.

Derek saw the tail lights turn down a road roughly a quarter mile ahead and hoped he could find the same road. Luckily, it seemed to be the only one that branched off on this stretch of road. He cursed when he turned, not seeing the tail lights anymore.

"He's heading to the police station," Chuck said in a distant voice.

"Well how do you get there?" Derek asked.

"Take the first right and it will take you into town," Chuck said, "You should be able to see it on the right."

Derek nodded and followed Chuck's instructions. After the next turn, he entered a place that seemed to defy the flow of time. The gas station had only one pump, looking like it had come right out of a 60's horror movie. A few other buildings littered the street; a small doctor's office, a mom and pops' grocery store, a hardware store, and some others. They were all made out of aged wood or metal siding. It blew Derek's mind how old this town looked.

The sheriff's department was much the same; an older looking wooden structure with an old country porch. The rocking chairs on it and the screen door added to the nostalgia. Derek pulled right beside the empty import. Apparently the others had already went inside.

Derek shut off the engine and took out the keys. Daniel and Livie were the first ones out of the truck, followed by Karen and the boy. Without a word, Karen ushered the boy up the steps of the porch and inside. Derek put the keys and his cigarettes in his pocket, then opened the door and stepped out. Chuck slowly exited the vehicle, his old bones not allowing him to move as fast as the others.

"What are we gonna do?" Livie asked Derek as she wiped her eyes.

"Are you sure we need to stay here?" Daniel asked. Derek looked at both of them, nodding in approval as Daniel opened the passenger door and grabbed the rifle.

"Hell, I don't know," Derek said, "I'm not too fucking excited about sitting in this shithole while we wait on someone who isn't even coming to rescue us, but I don't even know where the hell we are. It looked like those things were coming from the way were going anyways."

"Were I you," Chuck said as he ran a hand through his short, gray hair, "I would bunker down here for at least the night. You're tired, son. You don't look like you have slept in a good while. Not comfortably at least. When you're tired, you don't pay attention. Do you want to be out there as tired as you are when a bunch of those abominations storm down the road?"

Derek weighed the situation as best as he could in his exhausted state. Reluctantly, he realized that Chuck was right. It wouldn't do him and the others any good if they took off without any idea of where they were going. Whether he liked it or not he had taken on the responsibility of taking care of Daniel and Livie. He wouldn't risk it. Not now. Besides, there was probably more food to be had somewhere in the close vicinity, allowing them to keep what little stores of food they had.

"Whatever," Derek said to Chuck, "We will sta..."

"There he is James!" a woman's voice said, "Arrest him!" It was Karen's voice. Derek rolled his eyes and turned to face her as she stomped out of the building, the sheriff and two other people close behind her. Derek remembered them from the church. Paula was the woman's name. She was probably in her forties, but she dressed as if she were still in her teens. Normally it wouldn't bother Derek but she had that nasty, almost sluttish look to her. Her greasy hair and thin dyed-black hair didn't help things either. The young man, trying to look intimidating with tattoos, piercings, and a shaved head despite his short and slender figure, looked familiar to Derek but he couldn't put a name with the face.

"What the fuck?" Derek said, "What kinda shit is she trying to start now?"

"Well," Sheriff Carp said, "She says that you hit her. Is this true?"

"You're damn right I hit her," Derek said as he took a few steps back, "She wouldn't fucking listen to me."

"Hey, now watch the language!" the sheriff said, "No matter what is going on, there's still law and order in this town, and I despise a man who hits a woman. I'm afraid I'm going to have to arrest you. You can be properly booked when all this mess is over with."

Sheriff Carp stepped forward, prompting Derek to back-pedal into the street. This shouldn't be happening, he though. In the middle of all this carnage he was about to be arrested. Sheriff Carp moved, almost as if he were going to tackle Derek, when someone else spoke.

"He saved her life," Alicia said as she stepped out of the truck. No one had noticed that she had stayed in the truck after they had all exited. Sheriff Carp stopped dead in his tracks and turned to her.

"Excuse me?" Sheriff Carp said.

"I said he saved her," Alicia said in a low voice. She scratched one of her arms as she looked down at the ground, a bit nervous about bringing herself into the situation.

"We were all in the truck," she continued, "fixing to leave, and Derek jumped back out to save her and Kevin. Dale was..." she choked up, but fought back the tears, "Dale was hurt, then he turned into one of them, so Derek shot him. Karen went crazy. That's when Derek punched her and carried her to the truck. If it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't be here right now."

Karen's face went cold for a second. Derek couldn't believe that in spite of saving her, she would try to get him thrown in jail. She was a pastor's wife, after all. It didn't matter though. Once he had gotten some sleep where he could think clear he wouldn't help her out again regardless.

What had really surprised him was how Alicia had taken up for him. Daniel had pretty much let her know that he planned on leaving her for dead. Of all people, she should have been the one with any type of grudge against him. If Derek had it to do over again, he still would have made the same choice, though.

"Karen," Sheriff Carp said, "Is what Alicia is saying true?"

Karen began sob heavily. The seriousness of her accusation had set in when the sheriff turned to her. With her hand to her mouth to stifle herself, she nodded.

" I can't believe you," the sheriff said, "This man may have hit you, but you know he saved your life. Why, then, would you try to do this to him at a time like this? At any time period?"

"He...he killed Dale," she said as she pointed at him, "He doesn't need to be here. He needs to leave."

"I don't think so," the sheriff said, "You need to go inside and lay down. Alicia, take her to one of the cells. Give her a blanket and a pillow."

"You're putting me in jail!?" Karen exclaimed. Sheriff Carp shook his head.

"No," he said, "Now just settle down. A little sleep will do you good. It will do all of us good. Now everyone get inside, and we'll decide who will stand watch."

"Wait a fucking minute," Derek said, "Why aren't you going to put her in jail for lieing?"

"No," he said, "Now everyone shut up and get inside!"

XxXxXxXx

"Things seem to be getting back to normal in some parts of the mid-west," a middle aged man in a suit declared on the round-the-clock news which had taken over most of the tv stations. "Northern Texas seems to be stable as well, however with all of the refugees slipping past the military outpost around the Mexican border, we can't be sure that it will remain so for long."

Tonight's broadcast bored Derek greatly. At first he thought it was because he was still sleepy. It hadn't taken long for everyone to volunteer him for first watch, but it took even less time for him to tell them where to go. When he had refused, Sheriff Carp and Daniel had been chosen, but the tattooed man, Nick, had elected to do it in the sheriff's stead. Derek and the Sheriff Carp were the second watch. When Daniel had roused Derek from the cell he shared with he and Livie, Derek almost smacked him he was so tired.

When he had exited the cell, he glanced at the others as they slept. Livie was curled up in her blanket, tossing and turning in what was probably another bad dream. In the next cell the little boy, Kevin, was cuddled up next to Karen while Chuck slept in the floor, his shotgun by his side. Nick was bedding down in the hallway. Derek didn't care too much for him. There was a strange vibe coming from him. Derek noted that he should keep an eye on him.

Paula was in the last cell. Derek couldn't help but take notice of her cloths laying next to her naked body, covered up by the blanket. As trashy as he thought that was; sleeping naked around all of these people at a time like this, he couldn't help but get a little excited and he eyed her for a moment.

But where was Alicia? He guessed she was the sherrif's daughter or possibly a friends. She was probably in some nice, cozy bed in the back while the rest of them slept on cots. _Must be nice_.

"In spite of increased government efforts, the west coast and Florida have been deemed lost. Reports from military officials trapped in these areas are aiding the rest of the military to plan a tactical strike against some of the larger cities in hopes of eliminating large numbers of the infected in lieu of a ground attack..."

There were ten of them. It seemed too perfect of a number to Derek for the situation at hand. Five men, four women, and a boy. Derek was beginning to get angry at this point. While everyone was fast asleep, they should be scouring the town for supplies and ammo. He had guessed that it wouldn't be too long before the group that had decimated their numbers at the church would find their way here.

"In world news, Asia and the Middle East are still in a state of turmoil. Not only is the infection ravaging these areas, but war has flared since the very beginning of this catastrophe. Africa has also been hit very hard, and it has been impossible for international aid to reach them. What little bit of food the U.N. has been able to send has been air-dropped to some of the less populated areas..."

"Is there anything good on?" Derek asked with a yawn, ashing his cigarettes in the archaic ashtray on the sheriff's desk.

"Nope," the sheriff said as he cleaned his pistol, "Most of the channels are off the air, and what few aren't are showing the same thing. They're trying to make everyone think things are getting better, but I don't see it."

There was an awkward silence then. Neither one of them were really watching the tv now. Derek regretted saying anything to the him. He hated cops more than just about anything in this world. Even more so than the zombies. His hopes for silence were dashed when Sheriff Carp spoke.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Derek," he said, hoping by using Derek's name to sound a bit more personal, "But you have to realize I would have only been doing my job."

"Whatever," Derek said, "You just like to throw your weight around and boss people around, just every other cop in America."

"Oh really?" the sheriff said.

"Yes," Derek said, sitting up defiantly. In just the span of a few seconds he was wide awake, pumped with adrenaline.

"What makes you think that?" the sheriff asked.

"You were going to put me in jail without even getting my fucking side of the story," Derek said. "You don't care about justice, only your own brand of it."

"No," the sheriff said, "If you had really hit Karen out of anger or malicious intent, then it would have been my job to put you in jail, especially at a time like this. Do you think it would be a good idea to let someone who's potentially mentally unstable roam the streets?"

"You're just spouting off the same shit every other pig says," Derek said, wishing he could pull his .357 from his pants and blow the sheriff away with no recourse from the others.

"You've been in trouble before, haven't you?" Sheriff Carp asked. Derek looked at him with eyes aflame as he answered.

"Yes," he said coldly, "I served a year for assault, possession of an illegal firearm, possession of marijuana." The sheriff chuckled, shaking his head.

"Your parents must have had a lot of money," he said, "I bet they knocked it down to a misdemeanor, too, didn't they."

Derek went silent. The sheriff was absolutely right His parents had indeed spent a lot of money to get the firearm charge plead down to a misdemeanor offense. It sickened Derek how he sat there in front of him, so smug and smiling.

"You mother fuckers killed my brother," Derek said in a low, menacing voice, "I hope you all die and burn in hell."

The sheriff's face went blank. Derek's face was flushed with anger, tears beginning to well in his eyes. This was the first time he had thought about that day in years. Now, he had one of them in front of him, and this time he had a gun,too. If nothing else, he could take Sheriff Carp down with him if it came to that.

"I'm sorry to hear that son," Sheriff Carp said. "But I will tell you something, and I want you to listen to me."

"What the fuck do you have to say?" Derek demanded as he trembled.

"Between you and me, I don't think this mess will blow over any time soon," the sheriff said, "The army is already spread out too thin, and I have heard that some of the other police and sheriffs' departments around here have already been over-run. We haven't heard hardly anything from the government in days. Just those puppets on the news station.

"There is a new era coming, Derek. The world is going down quick. I don't know if it's the end times, or if this is something we have done to ourselves, but there will be a new world. You won't be bound by your past anymore, and that computer entry with your name on it will probably never be seen again. I want you to think about that, young man."

_What is this mother fucker talking about? Is he trying to be my friend? Dumb bastard. I hope he rots like those fucks outside._

Derek seriously contemplated pulling out the .357 and doing exactly what he wanted to do for years now. Yet something held him back. The thought of Livie and Daniel, and even the others. As much as he hated Sheriff Carp, Derek's score would have to be settled later.

"Yea, well fuck you," Derek said as he lifted out of the chair stormed to the front of the station, watching the shadows move in the night.


	11. Of Angels and Assholes

**Author's Note - I know this is a pretty short chapter, but I think this one scene is significant enough to warrant it. I tried to keep it too the point without spoiling it. I would also like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed my story. It means a lot. Please R&R this chapter. I know it is rough and I am going to do some work on it when I do the rewrite. The input would be much appreciated.**

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 11 - Of Angels And Assholes**

Derek called to the sheriff when he first made out the outlines of the zombies, and when Sheriff Carp had left the window to tell the others that the undead had found their way into town, Derek turned his attention back outside. Most of them didn't move very fast at all. There were two, maybe three, that would jerk suddenly, or run towards a sound in the distance, but for the most part they seemed like they were in a trance. Derek wondered if they even knew where they were.

He stayed beside the window, careful not to let them see him. He knew he was taking a risk by doing this, but he hadn't seen them like this before, when they weren't screaming with that eternal hunger in their eyes. He thought, briefly, that they looked somewhat majestic. Almost like a herd of buffalo out on the range.

He had counted eight walkers. He couldn't tell if there were two or three of the runners due in part to the shadows. It would seem a bit morbid to anyone but him that he was searching the faces he could make out for some of the people from the church. It wasn't for any other reason that just to see what they would look like undead as opposed to alive. As he looked over them, the awe of the moment was destroyed when he saw a large chunk of flesh hanging from one of their mouths.

Most definitely they were some of the residents of this backwoods time capsule. The men that he saw were all dressed in the same type of clothing as their living counterparts; flannel and denim shirts, over-alls, etc. What used to be an older woman caught his eyes. Although her gown was bloodied and torn, it still looked stunning on her. It was purple, and a large gold necklace adorned her neck. Derek wasn't sure, but he thought he could see rings on all of her fingers.

"Are there a lot of them?" a voice asked from behind him. It was soft, and gentle. It took Derek a moment to realize it was Alicia. She walked a few feet away from him and sat cross legged in the floor.

"Not too many," he said in a low tone, not taking his eyes from the view outside, "Not too many of them that we can't handle, anyways."

"That's good," she said, "Where are you from?"

"Franklin," he said, "A few hours south of here."

"Wow," she said, "We don't get too many people around here except for relatives sometimes. Is it pretty big?" Derek smiled at her almost childish interest in his home town.

"You could probably fit a few hundred of this town in the suburbs alone," he said, "We got a mall, and all kinds of stores and shit. Not like here. I couldn't live here. It's too small."

"Well some people like small towns," she said, "I don't really know if I do or not. I have only been away from here once, and that was to go to Kentucky to visit some of my mom's family in a place smaller than this."

An awkward silence then enveloped them. It seemed to Derek from the short conversation they had just had that she wanted him to accept or even like her. But why? After what had happened at the church why would she even want to be in the same room as him?

Derek turned to her. Apparently there was a shower or bath tub in the building because the blood and grime was gone from her arms, and her hair had a healthy shine to it. The more he stared at her as she sat there, the more glad he was that Daniel had went out to save her, and that he had followed. It would have been a very sad thing for the world to have lost someone so seemingly sweet as her. _I still would have done the same thing._

"Look," he said as he scratched his chest nervously, "I'm sorry about what happened back there at the church. I was worried about Daniel and Livie."

"It's ok," she quickly replied, "I am used to it."

"Used to what?" Derek asked, already having a good idea of what the answer would be.

"To people not caring," she said. She looked intently at Derek with her deep brown eyes, melancholy hiding behind them.

_Oh great, one of those damn depressed kids. Why is she looking at me like that? Fucking weirdo. But... but... Oh dammit!_

"It's not that," he said, then quickly changed the subject. "So what's your story?"

"My story?" she asked with a look of confusion.

"Where were you at when all of this started?" he asked as he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one. "How did you get to the church? You know, shit like that?"

"Oh," she said as she thrust her gaze downward, "It was a couple of days ago. My mom had left me at home for a couple of days. She used to do that a lot. I was reading in my bedroom when my neighbor Audy started screaming in the yard. I looked out and one of those things was after him. I wanted to help him, I did, but...but I was too scared." A tear rolled down her cheek.

"So I sat in my room all day and night," she continued, "I waited on mom to get home, but she never did. Finally James came to check on me. He is a really nice man," Derek scoffed at this, "He has always been there for me and my mom. Amy and Jonelle were with him, too. We drove to Jonelle's parent's house to get them, but those things were already there."

"We... we didn't have time to do anything. We had gotten out to get Jonelle's parents and some of her things and they came from everywhere. Amy and Jonelle were...were..."

Derek took an a larger puff than usual from his cigarette. For some reason he hated to see her cry. It got on his nerves pretty bad, but by the same token she shouldn't have to deal with this. None of them should. From what she said about her mom, she hadn't been dealt too good of a hand anyways.

"So..." she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "What's your 'story'?"

Derek gave her the edited version of his, Daniel, and Livies' ordeal, leaving out some of the more graphic parts, including how he had killed Gerald and thrown Mrs. Davis out. He told her of how he had to dispatch Philena, and half-truthfully about "finding" the Tahoe. When he was done, he stomped out the cigarette and lit another one. Alicia looked at him like a child who had just heard the most fantastic tale ever told.

"Oh my," she said as she put a hand down on the ground for balance and stood up, "You have had it rough."

"Yea," he replied, "I'm a pretty shitty guy aren't I?"

"I don't think so," she said, "You saved me, and Karen and Kevin,too."

_Saved her? This girl is pretty fucked up in the head._

"Yea well," he said, "Sometimes we just do what we have to do."

"I heard what you told James," she said, "About your brother. What happened to him?"

This question stung Derek to the very core of his being. It had been so long since anyone had even acknowledged that he had a brother. So very long. His anger started to overflow, and he clenched his fists, breaking the cigarette he was smoking.

"What the fuck is it to you?" he demanded, "Don't you need to get in bed?"

"I can't sleep," she said, apparently un-phased by his sudden outburst. Then she nodded to the window. "Especially not with all of them out there. I had a brother once, but he left a long time ago and he never came home. It hurts a lot, I know. I won't ask you again."

Derek didn't want to tell her. He never wanted anyone to know the pain and hatred her had harbored in his heart for so long. Alicia, however, seemed different. She wouldn't tell him how bad of a person he was for thinking the way he did. She wouldn't talk bad about his brother. But he didn't want to tell her. He needed to tell her.

"I was ten," Derek said as he leaned against the wall, hiding his face so she couldn't see the tears, "Jamie was six years older than me. A really... really great guy. He would do anything for you. And he had gotten into pot not too long before he... left.

"There were some guys in out neighborhood. A bunch of assholes. Mother fuckers. Somehow they had talked him into running some drugs for them up the road. They were with him, but he was the mule. Then the cops showed up. Fucking pigs. They took this back pack that they had pretty much forced him to carry, and then everyone started to run.

"He had asthma. I don't even know why he smoked. But he had a fucking attack, and when he went for his inhaler the fucking cops shot him. Those bastards. I hope they all fucking rot in hell. Daniel and Livies' dad had seen it all. He told mom that Jamie looked... scared. I didn't understand it all back then, but I knew that the weak ones always get fucked in the end, and the assholes seemed to always get away. It wasn't right. It just wasn't fucking right!"

Derek fought hard to keep the tears from coming, but they did anyways. In the span of just about a minute the burdens of over a decade seemed to have been lifted from his shoulders. For the first time in a long time he felt clean. Like he had been just told some horrible secret. The tears washed his soul.

There was something about this girl. Something special. Derek couldn't place his finger on it, and couldn't even begin to thank her. Finally the tears subsided and he turned back around, lighting another cigarette.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she stepped over to him, crossing her arms. Derek didn't know quite what to say. He had never felt the way he did right then. She stepped closer to him, then suddenly outstretched her arms to hug him.

"Don't fucking touch me!" he said. Alicia jumped back, her eyes wide with surprise, "And if you tell anyone what I just told you and I find out I will beat your ass!"

Alicia stared at him for a second, unsure of what to do. Derek hated having to be that way with her, but he had to. _The weak ones always get fucked in the end._

"Hey you two," Sheriff Carp said as he poked his head around the corner, "Get away from that window! Everyone is meeting in my office. We have to figure out what we're going to do."

Once Sheriff Carp had left down the small hallway, Alicia stared at Derek for a few more seconds, then followed him. Derek couldn't help but notice as he lit another cigarette how she had glanced back at him just before exiting the room.

_The weak ones always get fucked in the end._


	12. A Gathering Of The Dead

**Author's Note - Sorry if this seems a bit rushed. My wife is 38 weeks pregnant and with the holiday and all it has been a bit hectic. I have big ideas for the next few chapters and I plan to take some time on them, so it might be a bit before I update again.**

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 12 - A Gathering Of The Dead**

Sheriff Carp sighed and rubbed his temples as he sat back down at his desk. Derek leaned up against the door frame and surveyed the occupants of the room as the news played the same gruesome footage over and over as analysts tried to explain what was going on.

The two other chairs at the sheriff's desk were occupied by Paula and Karen, Kevin sitting in Karen's lap. Chuck was still wiping the sleep out of his eyes as he stood solid opposite of Derek. Daniel came to stand by Derek with Livie in tow.

Nick stood behind the sheriff. A shotgun was propped up against the wall beside him, and he donned one of the sheriff's holsters on his side, with what appeared to be some sort of revolver inside of it. This bothered Derek greatly. Out of all their motley group, Nick had been the one who had either been given or found the guns. He looked to be a rather unsavory character, not exactly one a sheriff should be trusting with guns.

Next to Nick was Alicia, her head low. Derek couldn't understand how he had upset her, even though he had snapped at her. It wasn't any of her business to be touching him, or really to even be talking to him. A bit of remorse struck him, but just as suddenly he realized she needed to toughen up. Someone needed to show her how the world was, especially this new one which they now found themselves in.

"Alright, everyone," Sheriff Carp said as he looked over each person assembled before him, "I'm sure all of you know that they have gotten into the town. I'm going to level with all of you. Things don't look too good for us right now. I was looking on the internet earlier, and called a couple of my friends in the towns and counties around here.

"The only places anywhere close to here that haven't been overrun yet are Dover and Clayton. Clayton is by far the closest of the two, but..."

"Why can't we just stay here and ride this all out?" Paula asked as she puffed away on her cigarette. Derek tried hard to be conspicuous as he glanced at her nipples as they pressed into her shirt.

"That's not an option," Sheriff Carp said, "There's simply not enough food that we can get to sustain us for any length of time. Searching the houses and sheds would be our best bet, but it would be too risky. Guessing from the quick glance I took outside, I figure there are about a dozen or so of them out there right now. The rest of them from the church will probably be here within the hour if they are heading this way. We can only hope that they don't have the reasoning capabilities to follow us this far.

"Now as I was saying, getting to Clayton is our best bet. The Tennessee State Guard has set up a base there, and from what I have gathered they have a good stock of food and a reasonably defensive position."

"Then we'll be protected by the army?" Livie asked, ecstatic at the prospect.

"No," the sheriff replied, "The Tennessee State Guard is a volunteer organization which has no ties with the U.S. military or the national guard. The closest military presence, I believe, is in Nashville. That's too far to try and make a clean run at. The only other option is holding up here. We will either have to deal with this menace ourselves, either by sniping them from the rooftops and hoping that they don't break into the safe-houses we will set up, or hoping against all odds that someone will come and either rescue us or help fortify the town."

"No one's coming," Derek said as he threw down his cigarette and crushed it under his foot, "We need to get out of here."

"And where exactly do you think we're going to go?" Chuck asked.

"Hell if I know," Derek said, "But you're crazy if you think we have any chance of making it here."

There was a small uproar in the room. Most everyone except for Livie seemed to be on Derek's side. Derek was a bit angered by the way Daniel kept quiet. He wasn't sure if he was following the others blindly like an ignorant sheep or not, but he could have said something on Derek's behalf.

"I agree with Derek," Sheriff Carp said, bringing the level of noise to a low murmur, "But as sheriff of this county, I am obligated to protect it's citizens. No matter what you people decide, I will support that decision and do my best to make sure we all make it through this alive."

_What a fucking hero._ Derek couldn't stand the way Sheriff James Carp was selling himself to these people. Surely when the going got tough, he would be like all the rest of them and make sure that _he _was the one who made it alive, no matter the cost. His oratory skills had seemed to work though, as the six remaining residents of the small town tried to talk over each other, saying that if the sheriff thought that they should leave, then they would leave.

_What a load of shit. He's got these dumbasses wrapped around his finger._

"Alright," Sheriff Carp continued, "I think it's clear to anyone familiar with the town and the area that probably the safest route to Clayton as far as lowest population density is concerned would be through Harper's Point..."

"But wouldn't we want there to be a lot of people?" Karen asked as she cradled the little boy, who was now asleep in her arms.

"I don't think so," the sheriff said, "This is the most heavily populated area in fifty miles, and you see what has happened here. Any other place with a good amount of people would probably be crawling with those things just like here. I think our best bet is to stay away from any place that has a lot of people.

"But that brings me to the only real problem I see with this whole plan. In order to get through Harper's Point, we'll have to go through Howell Hollar." Derek cringed when he said "hollar", the backwoods annunciation of "hollow".

"We'll just shoot 'em all if they try to stop us," Chuck said, earning nods of agreement from Nick and Paula.

"It's not going to be that simple," Sheriff Carp said, "I'm sure those boys have set up road blocks and patrols to try and make the most out of this situation as they can. If we're not careful, we could all be killed."

"What the hell is Howell Hollow?" Derek asked, throwing his hands up in the air and wishing that everyone would stop wasting time, "Is it a couple of rednecks with some shotguns and pick-up truck?"

"No," Sheriff Carp chuckled, "They've been in this county longer than almost anyone else, tracing their roots back to the pre-Civil War era. They think they have some sort of squatter's right to the county. I can't tell you off the top of my head, but I would imagine there's fifty or so of them running around up there."

"Yea," Nick said, "And all crazy as hell and doped up on meth. What makes it even worse is that their patriarch or whatever, Jackie Howell, served in World War II. He made his boys learn to shoot a gun when they were around seven, and they followed suit. So in a nutshell, they're a bunch of crazy hicks armed to the teeth and geeking so bad they'll shoot first and ask questions later."

"Great," Derek said, "Deliverance style."

Derek turned and exited the room, completely ignoring the look of disapproval from the sheriff. It seemed to him that no matter what they decided to do, they were in trouble. From the observations that he had made, the only people with any proficiency with a gun were him, the sheriff, and possibly Nick. Although Chuck had used one at the church, Derek seriously doubted he had ever used it for much else than keeping critters out of his yard.

Maybe they could take on a few dozen zombies, but it was a big maybe. Derek had half-heartedly hoped that Karen, Paula, and Alicia wouldn't be in the picture at that point. While he certainly didn't want them to be devoured by the undead, it would make any chance they had of escaping better.

Derek put a cigarette in his lips as he walked over beside the window. Light flickered as he tried to get the lighter to light, but it wouldn't. _Dammit_. After shaking it vigorously, he sighed and started to turn around to head back to ask Paula for a light. Surely she had one. She seemed like the smoking type. A shadow caught his eye. It was coming in the window from the porch. When he peered around the window the sight made his mouth drop open.

There must have been a hundred of them outside now, all shambling around the street and towards the doors of the buildings. Although he still didn't see any of the people that had been at the church, he hoped it was them

_Those stupid bastards. While they were in there fucking around they let them find us._

Just before he started to run back to the others, he remembered the shadow. Remembering the size of it, he guessed that at least one of the zombies was on the porch. Silently he waited to see if he was right. After a few seconds the shadow passed across the window once again. Derek seized the opportunity and slowly looked around the window.

It appeared to be the corpse of what used to be a young man. Decay had long since consumed it as it staggered from one banister to another. It didn't seem as though it had sustained any injuries like a gunshot or a bite. Instead of the usual growls and screams these creatures often let out, Derek thought he heard an almost a painful moan.

Derek might not have known how long it would take for a body to exhibit this sort of decay, but he was positive that it would have taken longer than the week or so since all this had started. That only meant one thing. Not only were the bodies of the newly dead rising, but also those that had been dead for a while. Possibly even years.

"Shit!" someone yelled from right beside him. Derek grabbed Nick by the collar of the shirt and pressed him up against the wall. Nick attempted to struggle, but Derek grasped his neck firmly.

"Not a word," Derek hissed as a hand slapped against the window. He closed his eyes as the disgusting moans, muffled by the glass, echoed in his ears.

Nick tensed up but remained still. Derek hoped that the creature's noise was too low for the others to hear. Sheriff Carp walked into the room, his eyes wide with apprehension after hearing Nick's exclamation. Derek waved his hand frantically, careful not to let the zombie see it. The sheriff slid back into the doorway once he heard the slow beating on the window.

Then there was another set of hands beating against the window, then another. Derek held Nick tight by the collar as he slid both of them across the wall. It could have just been the anxiety, but Derek's muscles began to tense up. Once they got into the hallway, Derek slung him onto the floor.

"You fucking idiot!" he hissed at Nick, then stepped over him and went into the room with the others.

"What's going on?" Livie asked, her brows furrowed.

"Is everything alright?" Chuck followed. The others stood up, each with a different question.

"Now everyone calm down and keep it quiet!" the sheriff said, "Those things are everywhere out there, and some of them know we are in here. We have to decide on what we're going to do now!"

There were several gasps and Karen started to hyper-ventilate. Derek pulled out the .357 and made sure it was loaded. Daniel slowly slipped out of the room to get the rifle.

"I'm scared," Paula said as she wrapped her arms around one of Derek's and pressed her face against it. A bulge in his pants began to form as he looked down her shirt, the tops of her nipples alluring him.

"Yea," Derek said, "I bet you are."

"We're going to be ok, right?" she asked, sounding almost like a little girl.

"I am," he said, "I don't know about the rest of you fuckers."

"Hmph," she snorted as she pulled away from him, letting her finger trail down his chest as she walked to the other side of the room. Derek couldn't help but watch as her butt cheeks as they shifted from side to side in her tight pants.

"Dude," Daniel said, rousing Derek from his stupor.

"Huh... what?" Derek said.

"The rifle's loaded," he said, "but I only have six bullets besides that with me. The rest are in the truck."

"We'll just have to make due with what we've got," Derek said.

"I'll make sure the .38 is loaded," Daniel said, then smiled, "We're lucky Livie even knows how to shoot it, let alone load it."

Derek chuckled to himself, then slid the .357 back into his pants.

"We have to try and make it through Howell Hollow," Nick said as he walked into the room, with better annunciation than most of the people there. He gave Derek a cold stare.

"It's our only chance," he continued. "It's the closest place, and if we can all stick together and stay away from the main road we might be able to get through there without any of them seeing us."

There was a small commotion, everyone reluctant to go that way for some reason. As they all talked amongst themselves, Derek stood up on one of the chairs.

"Hey. Hey!" he raised his voice, forgetting momentarily about what was listening outdoors, "Now what the hell is so bad about these rednecks? Why the hell do you people think they would cause us any trouble at a time like this?"

"You don't understand," Karen said, "Those people are crazy. Criminally minded, even."

"I tried to go up there yesterday," Sheriff Carp said. "Duane Howell stepped right out on his front porch when I came up the road and started shooting. He didn't even say anything. And he was aiming to kill."

"Well I don't give a fuck," Derek said, "That sounds like our best bet, and we better get a fucking move on it before we get fucked up sitting around. Give me a map and me, Daniel, and Livie will go."

"I'm going with him," Paula said with a smirk as she leaned against the wall.

"Well," Derek said, extending his arms, "That makes five of us. I don't think you and Chuck can hold this little shithole down by yourself, sheriff. Are you coming or staying?"

"James," Karen said shaking her head as tears welled up in her eyes.

"They're right, Karen," he said, "We don't have much of a chance here, especially if they leave. It's best if we stay together."

"Well what kind of plan do you have for getting out of here, James?" Chuck asked as the beating on the windows began to grow more steady.

"I...I don't know," Sheriff Carp said as he scratched his head.

"I got a fucking plan," Derek said, "We're gonna kick that fucking door down and fight our way out to the cars. Then we're gonna pile up and get the fuck out of here."

"You're insane!" Karen said, "We'll never make it!"

"We'll be eaten alive!" Chuck said.

Derek listened as they each rebuked his plan. Glancing to his right, Livie bit her lip nervously as she nodded her head. At his left, Daniel cocked the .22 and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well," Derek said, "Do you have any better ideas?"

XxXxXxXx

Derek and Daniel stood around the sheriff's desk as he unfolded a map of the area, seeing as how they, along with Livie, were the only ones who didn't know their way around. Sheriff Carp traced his finger along it for a moment, then pointed out the township.

"We are here," he said, "and Howell Hollar is here. When we get onto the main road you'll need to take a left, which will lead you north. You'll come to Leamon Road about five miles out on the left. Take that road and follow it out. That will run into Howell Road. If we get separated, follow that road out until you see Highway 29 and you will see the signs to Harper's Ferry. Don't stop for anything, you hear me? Anything."

"Looks good to me," Derek said as he nodded.

"Can we have the map?" Daniel asked, "It won't do us any good here. Besides, if things go bad, we might have to go somewhere else."

"Yea, sure," the sheriff said, "And if anyone tries to stop and flag you down around there I suggest that you keep on going. They might not have bad intentions, but I still wouldn't risk it."

"Alright," Daniel said as Derek studied the map, trying to memorize it as best he could before he folded it up and put it in his back pocket.

"I'm going to go finish getting everything ready," Daniel said. In the hour it had been since Derek had pretty much decided their course of action, everyone, with the exception of Karen, had been scurrying through the building getting everything together that they might need or be able to use while being careful to avoid any windows without blinds or curtains. She had went back to the cell with Kevin.

Derek walked out of the office and watched as Nick and Chuck inventoried the weapons in the hall between the cells.

Chuck would retain the shotgun he had at the church while Nick was armed with the revolver and shotgun Derek had seen him with earlier. The sheriff had his 9mm and had elected to carry a baton as well, leaving the firearms to the others.

Derek and his people would keep their weapons, and Derek would take one of the shotguns the sheriff had found. It held six rounds so long as one was chambered. He had almost snatched up another 9mm until Paula had asked the sheriff for it. Derek was a little angered, but at least she wasn't refusing to carry a gun like Karen and Alicia.

"Are mommy and daddy going to be there?" Derek heard the little boy say. Careful not to turn his head, he couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"I don't know," Karen said, trying to keep from choking up, "But if they are I am sure they will be happy to see you."

"Are there going to be more of those bad people out there?" he asked.

"There might be," Karen said with a motherly quality coming back to her voice, "But we have all these nice men to protect us, like they did back at the church."

"Then why didn't Mommy and Daddy come here?" Kevin asked. Derek chuckled and shook his head. _We were lucky to get as many people here as we did._

"Well, they might be on their way to Clayton right now," she said, "We just have to have hope."

Derek shook his head and headed to the back of the cells towards the bathroom. With everything that had been going on he had neglected his smoking habit, and the nicotine fit was beginning to set in on top of his exhaustion. A nice bowel movement before they rushed out into an army of decaying cannibals would be nice,too.

He weaved his way around Chuck and Nick, then avoided Livie's glance as he made his way to the bathroom. A sigh escaped him as he stepped inside the door.

"Dammit," he said as he pulled out his pack and opened it, only to discover he had five cigarettes left. The rest of them were out in the Tahoe. Sheriff Carp gave him a lighter he had taken from an underage smoke, so Derek didn't have to worry about that anymore.

Derek pulled one out and put it to his lips. Just as he was about to light it up and close the door, Paula stepped inside. _What the fuck now?_

"Hey babe," she said as she leaned up in the doorway, "Whatcha doin?"

"Well," Derek said as he lit the cigarette, "From the looks of things I would guess I was going to take a shit and smoke a cigarette."

"So descriptive," she said with a smile, "Do you think I could get one from you? I smoked my last one a while ago."

_Who the hell does this bitch think I am? Some horny little school kid?_

"I don't have many left, now leave me alone" he said, putting his hand on the door to close it. She held the door firm and squeezed her way inside, letting it close under the pressure of Derek's shove behind her.

"What the hell..." Derek started, but she interrupted him.

"I'll pay for it," she said as she clasped her hands in front of her and gave him an innocent smile.

"I don't need your money," he said, "I need these fucking smokes."

"Well," she said as she dropped to her knees, "I was thinking of something you need more."

Derek raised his brow and looked down at her smiling face. He didn't say a word as she licked her lips and began to unzip his pants.


	13. Let's Go

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 13 - Let's Go**

Derek squatted down with his back to the wall once he had finished checking the shotgun. The shells and a few .357 rounds in his pockets were uncomfortable, pressing his keys into the side of his leg, but he didn't care. As he ran his hands through his hair, trying to fight off the exhaustion, he looked around the room at the others.

Sheriff Carp sat at his desk, checking each of the clips he had for his 9mm. Once he was satisfied, Derek counted five clips as he put them in the inner pockets of his jacket. While the sheriff tried to give the impression that he was on top of his game, the bags under his eyes betrayed the sleep that Derek guessed he was secretly longing for.

In a folding chair at the other side of the room, Daniel's head hung low as he snored softly. Livie had carefully taken the rifle from his hands and laid it beside them before she put her head on his leg and drifted off herself. Chuck tried to maintain some sense of alertness as he sat upright in his chair, but any attempt at this was dashed each time he closed his eyes, threatening to topple off his chair each time.

Nick was the only person in the room who showed any type of enthusiasm, if you could call it that, as he did push-ups at the end of the hallway containing the cells. Sweat poured off of his forehead and onto the floor, his heavy breathing in the stillness of the room grating Derek's nerves to their very core. Derek didn't like Nick, not one bit. Although he didn't want to admit it, he seemed to hate him worse than he did the sheriff.

Sheriff Carp had told the women to take Kevin to the small apartment-type room behind the office to get some rest while the men made the final preparations. A pile of various things they had all gathered laid in the corner of the office. The items ranged from cooking utensils and mirrors to some small hand tools and glue. Since the only people carrying the bags would be Karen and Alicia, they had to weed out the things that they wouldn't need and pile the rest into three plastic bags and a small back pack the sheriff used for hiking. Alicia would of course carry the backpack and one of the bags, while Karen would carry the other bags.

Derek rubbed his eyes, then looked up at the clock on the wall. The forty-five minutes allotted to the women to rest was up. Fighting against his own muscles to stir them into action, he jumped up and pulled his last cigarette out of the pack. After he had lit it, he looked over to the sheriff.

"It's time to go," Derek said as he exhaled a heavy cloud of smoke, "Go wake the girls and let's get this shit on the move."

Sheriff Carp looked at him incredulously for a moment. Derek returned his look with one of his own as he cocked his head, letting the sheriff know that a sense of urgency was needed. Finally Sheriff Carp rose to his feet and went to the back room as the others began to stand, checking themselves to make sure they had all the gear that had been allotted to them. Derek couldn't tell if the sheriff finally realized he was the one running the show, or if he just didn't want to raise tensions any more than they already were. All he knew was that the sheriff had let them waste enough time. It was definitely time to go.

"Hey," Daniel said as he walked over to Derek, leaning in his ear, "Do you really think we can pull this off? It seems like a long shot."

"I don't know, man," Derek said as he took another drag on his cigarette, "We're going to try, but I really doubt that everyone will make it out alive."

"Keep your voice down," Daniel said, "All we need is for everyone to hear you and then go crazy. This might sound stupid, but this is their only hope right now. If they lose that then we're all in trouble."

"You're fucking weird," Derek said, "And if they went crazy and decided to stay here, we might have a better chance anyways."

"You're doing it again," Daniel said.

"Doing what?" Derek asked.

"Thinking about screwing someone over," Daniel replied, trying to keep his voice down.

"Bullshit," Derek said, "It's the truth and you know it."

"Nick and the sheriff might not need us," Daniel said, "But the women do. And Kevin."

"What about that Alicia girl?" Derek asked, changing the subject, "Did you get a little taste of that yet?"

"No!" Daniel said as his face turned red. Derek grinned from ear to ear.

"Well why not?" Derek asked.

"I don't know," Daniel said, "She hasn't said a word to me at all hardly since we got here."

"You should have left her to die," Derek said, "Especially if she's going to be so ungrateful."

"You're an ass," Daniel said.

"I know," Derek said.

Just then, Sheriff Carp led the women and Kevin into the room, each of them wiping the sleep from their eyes. Paula gave Derek a sly glance and licked her lips when she saw him. The smile Derek had after the experience he had shared with her in the bathroom was long gone, but he managed a half-smile and a chuckle. Paula smiled, thinking that she had him wrapped around her little finger, but Derek knew better. So long as he let her think that she was in control of whatever odd relationship they might have in the future, he could manipulate her any way he wanted. That could come in very handy if things started getting rough.

"Alright everyone, listen up," Sheriff Carp said, "Here's the plan. I will go out first, followed by Derek, Daniel, and Nick. We'll secure the area. The women and Kevin will come out next. Chuck, you'll bring up the rear." Chuck nodded in acknowledgement.

"Here," the sheriff said as he handed one set of keys to Karen as she picked up her bags, "You make it to the car. That is the only thing you have to do. Get to it and get it started. Now, who is going to drive the truck?"

"That would be me," Derek said defiantly, having a vague idea of what the sheriff was about to say next.

"I don't think that would be very wise," Sheriff Carp said, "We'll need you to help make sure everyone makes it that far."

"Well it's my fucking truck," Derek replied, throwing his cigarette to the ground.

"I can drive," Livie said, stepping up next to Derek, "I have my learner's permit and I have gotten pretty good at driving grandpa's truck."

Derek contemplated this for a moment. He didn't like the idea of anyone but him driving the truck that their supplies and ammo was in, but if it had to be someone besides him he would rather it be her or Daniel. She might not have been the best choice out of everyone there, but she gave Derek more peace of mind.

"Whatever," Derek said as he jerked the keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. Hiding just behind her bleak smile was the fear Derek knew was in her heart.

_Tough girl. She's doing a lot better than I thought she would._

"Now is everyone ready?" Sheriff Carp said.

Derek scanned the room. Chuck grimly nodded as he looked at the sheriff, gripping the shotgun in his hands. Nick's "Hell yea" caused Karen to look at him in disapproval as she visibly shook next to Paula, who was awkwardly holding the 9mm. Daniel let out a heavy sigh next to him, and Livie wrapped her little arms around him and Derek tightly before stepping back and taking the .38 from the desk. Once she had done this, she put on the back pack and picked up the bag they had packed for her.

"Kevin," Chuck said as his stoic expression gave way to a smile, "You stay close to us, and don't get too far ahead, alright?" The little boy nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"If everyone's ready," the sheriff said as he picked up his baton, "Let's go!"

The sheriff turned and quickly ran out of the room. Adrenaline rushed through Derek's veins as he followed close behind, clearing the exhaustion from his mind. The footsteps behind him sounded almost like a war movie; a platoon of men running up the stairs to defend their sinking ship. It was a nice analogy in Derek's mind. Almost anything would be preferable to what they were about to undertake.

Sheriff Carp ripped the door open and leapt out onto the dimly lit porch, swinging his pistol from side to side. The first gunshot made Derek's heart skip a beat. He saw the body fall against the window. He didn't get to see it slide down, though, as he stepped outside and pulled the shotgun up to his shoulder.

The attention of every zombie in the small town was focused on them now. Derek cursed under his breath when he realized how many of them there were now. There must have been a hundred, maybe even more.

Watching the horde shamble towards them, he noticed two of the quicker zombies in a dead run coming around the car. The blast from the shotgun rattled his ears, and being unready for the recoil, he moved back a step. When his vision finally settled back on them as the slowly rose back up from the ground, someone grabbed his right arm. Dropping the shotgun to the ground as he turned, he launched his left fist blindly into the face of a young woman, chunks of flesh missing from her abdomen.

"Derek!" Livie screamed from the porch as the woman's head snapped back and her jaws opened wide. Rotten flesh and coagulated blood sprayed Derek's face as the bullet from Livie's gun smacked into the woman's shoulder, causing her grip to weaken enough for Derek to pull away.

"Fuck!" he screamed as the woman's other hand firmly held his shirt. Out of the corner of his eyes, Derek could see another zombie just feet away from him, a hungry moan escaping it. A loud thud resonated in his ears as the woman fell to the ground. As she dropped, he met Sheriff Carp's gaze for a brief second as the man wielded his baton like a sword, turning quickly to bring it down on the skull of another of the undead.

Derek pulled the .357 from his pants and fired a shot into the torso of the advancing zombie. Before he could even fire a second shot, the .22 cracked in the darkness and brain matter scattered from the back of it's skull, causing it to fall down dead. When Derek looked back to the porch, Daniel was taking aim; firing off round after round. Derek hoped that he had enough bullets and the time to reload.

Gunshots rang throughout the small town now. Nick leapt from the banister, kicking one of the zombies to the ground. Quickly, he rolled to his feet and stomped his foot down onto it's head, the sickening noise deafened by the clamor.

Karen was almost clinging to Sheriff Carp's jacket, having already dropped the bags and crying hysterically. Derek could almost hear her over the roar of the guns as he picked up the shotgun and slid the .357 into his pants once again. Rising and swinging it around, he shouldered it again and walked towards the Tahoe. After the first shot he had fired, that meant there were five more shells in the gun.

A newly turned zombie ran straight for him from across the road. Derek tried to keep his vision on it as he looked from side to side. Half a dozen or so were shambling from around the side of the building, and the road was littered with them; so much that he couldn't even make out the fronts of the other buildings across the road.

"Fuck!" Derek screamed as he began to panic. "Where the fuck is everyone at?!"

Sheriff Carp fired a round into one of the zombie's head as it opened it's mouth to bite Paula. Livie ran past them, Chuck right behind her. The ranks of the undead began to close in on them, leaving them vastly outnumbered. Chuck fired his shotgun in rapid succession, clearing a path for them as they ran past the others.

"Get to the car!" Sheriff Carp screamed at Karen as she went to her knees and covered her ears. Nick was already at the side of the car, firing the 9mm as the zombies closed in on him. Desperately he screamed for Karen to get up. When he realized all hope was lost for getting Karen to the car, he cursed and ran towards the side of the building.

Livie made it to the side of the Tahoe, opening the door just as one of the zombie's stepped around it and reached out for her.

"Get down!" Chuck yelled as she screamed and pulled away. The blast made her scream even louder, putting both hands to her ears as she dropped the bag, her right hand still holding the .38. The zombie's head and upper torso exploded, and Livie was inside the vehicle before the rest of the body could even hit the ground.

Derek reached the passenger side door just as chuck slammed the door behind Livie. Before stepping inside, he looked around frantically for Daniel. It was hard to find him in the midst of the undead, but Derek finally spotted him, firing the rifle from the porch.

"Daniel!" Livie screamed. His head snapped up from the gun sites and went wide when he realized that the area surrounding the porch was swarming with the undead. Derek emptied the shotgun into the crowd between them and the porch, partially opening an escape route as Daniel jumped over those reaching for him from the banister.

Derek threw the shotgun in the passenger side and pulled out the .357 again. Five shots. He had to make them count. He cast a glance behind him. At least a dozen of the undead were within twenty feet of him. Steadying himself on the open truck door, he began picking his shots, trying to cover Daniel as he made a dash for the truck.

Suddenly, Karen screamed and bolted up. Sheriff Carp was close to being overwhelmed as the hands of the undead began to be too much for him. All he could do now was begin a fighting retreat. He screamed for Karen as she ran around the back of the house, the undead that were once there already on the trail of Nick. Paula began to cry as she watched the undead block her path to the vehicles and turned to follow Karen when one of the undead on the ground grabbed her leg and pulled her down.

She let out a blood curdling scream, prompting Sheriff Carp to turn from the mass of zombies he was holding off. With a swift blow, he smashed the skull of the one holding her leg, biting unsuccessfully into her shoe. Hands fell on his back, and he pulled away; dragging Paula for a few feet before she stood up and ran with him, leaving the 9mm behind.

Karen was well ahead of them, and Derek watched as she disappeared into the tree line before firing his next to last shot. Sheriff Carp and Paula must have been behind the house, because he didn't see them. A few shots rang out followed by another of Paula's screams, then the gunshots were silenced.

"Fuck!" Derek said as he fired his last round into the chest of one grasping for Daniel. It staggered back, and when Daniel made it to Derek's side he raised the rifle and put a bullet through it's skull. Derek was impressed at how well his aim had gotten.

As Derek sat heavily into the seat and laid the empty .357 down, he began to go over everyone in his head. Livie, Daniel, and Chuck were with him. Paula, Nick, Karen, and the sheriff had went behind the house. Wait a minute, he was missing two people. Alicia and Kevin!

"Where the fuck..." he said to himself as he looked back across the yard. Finally he saw them above the heads of the undead; Alicia holding Kevin's head close to her chest as she cried out.

"Dammit!" he screamed, wondering how he hadn't seen them when he spotted Daniel. The zombie's were converging on the truck now from all directions. Why should he risk his life to save them? If they had just followed the plan they would be at the truck by now. Just before he slammed the door, something gripped him.

"Mother fucker!" he said as he leapt out of the truck, grabbing the .38 from the beside Livie as she revved the engine.

"Go!" he screamed at Livie as he slammed the door. He ran across the yard, unable to make a shot in such close quarters. One of the undead was directly between him and the porch. To Derek's dismay, the dead had already began making their way up the stairs. Derek plowed into the old man in front of him like a football player, knocking it to the ground. The roar of the truck could be heard now with the resounding thuds as Livie plowed through the undead.

Derek was feet from the porch now, and the crack of the .22 was heard as a red bead formed on the back of head of the foremost zombie on the porch. As it fell backwards into the others, Daniel stepped up beside him and continued firing.

"Go!" Daniel yelled, "I'll cover you!"

Derek ran up and fired the .38 at close range into the heads of the three zombies crawling up the stairs. The fourth pull of the trigger only gave a "click". The .22 continued to crack as he leapt up the stairs.

Alicia hadn't raised her head, screaming now; pleading for God to save her. Kevin's cries could barely be heard, muffled against her shirt. In that moment, Derek understood what Daniel had been trying to tell him all along. As the gunshots and crying faded away in that one second, he realized that these kids had done nothing to be placed in this situation, it had been thrust upon them.

"Come on!" Derek yelled as he jerked Alicia to her feet. She fought for a second, slapping wildly, but when she opened her eyes and caught Derek's, she smiled through her tears.

"Thank you..." she said as Derek pushed her towards the stairs where Daniel was standing at the bottom, still firing probably his last shots into the mob. Derek slammed the .38 into his pants and picked Kevin up. The sobbing boy went limp in his arms. Derek turned and bolted down the stairs past Daniel and Alicia and led them around the side of the building.

XxXxXxXx

Livie floored the gas as she ripped down the road on her way towards Howell Hollow. Tears threatened to cloud her vision as she wiped them away with the sleeve of her shirt. She was mad. Mad at Derek for leaving her, and mad at Daniel for following him. Most of all, she was mad at Alicia and Kevin for making them come after them.

They hadn't encountered a zombie in miles. As the houses and fences gave way to trees and fields, she began to get a little anxious. After everything she had heard about Howell Hollow, the fear crept farther and farther into her mind the farther down the road she got. Hopefully, she could get through the hollow without incident.

Chuck was on edge, gripping the shotgun behind Livie. He tried to talk to her a few times, but she had told him to be quiet in not so many words. Her nerves were shot. She was tired. She was scared. Most of all, she wanted Daniel and Derek.

Up ahead, she saw two men, both holding either rifles or shotguns, standing in the road. Excitement welled up inside her as they stepped to the side of the road. Daniel and Derek must have ran through the woods and waited on her. As she came to a stop Chuck yelled at her keep on going.

_He needs to shut up! I'm not leaving Daniel and..._

Suddenly she was looking down the barrel of a rifle through her passenger side window. The man's features were hidden in the night, all except his long hair.

"Get out of the car!" a man's voice roared, "Now!"

Livie was shocked, not knowing what to do. The man's voice and Chuck's echoed in her head as her heart jumped up into her throat. Glass shattered as the butt of a gun went through Chuck's window, then began smacking him in the head. Her door was ripped open, and someone jerked her out into the night as she screamed.

XxXxXxXx

Derek and the others had been at a dead run for over an hour. They were exhausted, especially Derek as Kevin, probably not weighing any more than sixty pounds, began to feel like a small car. Alicia had begged for them to stop and take a break, but Derek refused, afraid that any newly turned zombies weren't far behind them.

Then something caught his ears. It was someone screaming. Derek held up his hand for everyone to stop, which they did.

"What is that?" Alicia said as she gripped Daniel's arm.

"Sounds like that fucker Nick," Derek said, turning to face them.

"We need to help him," Daniel said. Although Derek didn't like the idea of helping Nick, they needed the ammo and the extra gun. Derek nodded, and they all crept off towards the noise.

They came to an opening in the woods, and what Derek saw made his blood go cold. The moonlight illuminated the clearing, and Nick was down on his knees, his hands tied behind his back. In front of him were a dozen or so men, each holding some sort of a gun. One of the men was holding a crying woman by the hair; she was also on knees.

"Fuck you!" they heard Nick yell, then there was a gunshot and they watched as Nick's body fell limply to the ground.

"Shit!" Derek said. Daniel raised the .22, but Derek grabbed the barrel. "No, we don't stand a chance."

Daniel almost let out a growl, and the four of them watched as the men dragged Karen back through the woods. Once they were out of sight, they all stood up. Kevin was crying, the sight of the men carrying Karen away almost traumatizing to him.

"What are we going to do?" Daniel said, stepping ahead of Derek.

"We're going after them," he said, "I don't know why, but something tells me that Karen isn't the only one of us they got."

"You think..." Daniel said. Derek nodded, hoping that his assumption was wrong.

"We have to go save her," Daniel said. Had it just been Karen he was worried about, Derek would have left her to whatever those people had in store for her, but he had to be sure Livie wasn't captured, too.

"Let's go," Derek said. Alicia and Daniel were already into the clearing as Derek lumbered forward with the crying boy in his arms. No one had noticed the old woman crawling up behind them. Derek stepped into a hole and stumbled backwards, and the old woman wasted no time wrapping her jaw around his ankle.


	14. Lost And Found

**Author's Note - Sorry it has taken me so long to update. With the new baby, work, and hopefully starting a band with a friend of mine things have been hectic. I hope not to be so long between updates, but if I am rest assured I will finish the story. Please R&R as always, and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.**

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 15 - Lost And Found**

"Mother Fucker!" Derek said through his gritted teeth as his left leg buckled under him once again, the homemade splint Daniel had hastily made out of strips of cloth and a stick slipping off his right ankle.

Daniel had taken point several yards ahead as he tracked which way the men had taken Karen. For years Derek had thought that Daniel's dedication and enthusiasm to the Boy Scouts was childish and often quite pathetic, until now. Granted the splint wasn't the best, but it did give his ankle some temporary relief.

Alicia kneeled down by Derek's side, gently tightening the cloth strips of the splint as he leaned on the slightly decayed piece of wood Kevin had brought him just after the attack on the outskirts of the fields. Daniel and Alicia had harshly scolded the young boy for wandering even just a few dozen feet away. He gripped the stick firmly and wrung it in his hand as best he could to wear down the decayed bark.

"How are you feeling?" Alicia asked as she lifted herself back up under his arm.

"It hurts like hell," Derek replied.

"You're lucky," Alicia said as they began to lumber behind Daniel once again, "That could have been really bad back there."

"Yea, well," Derek said, "I guess it's a good thing that bitch didn't have her dentures in."

Kevin was walking along side of them, following Derek's every step. Ever since Derek and Daniel had rescued them from the porch, it was almost impossible for Derek to have any space, especially with a sprained ankle.

"Get down!" Daniel said as he went to his knees, holding the rifle down low. Almost instinctively Alicia dropped to the ground, leaving Derek to go slowly down to one knee while extending the other out behind him painfully. Kevin went down on his belly.

"Are those more bad guys?" Kevin asked.

"I don't know," Derek said as he watched Daniel move towards him.

"I don't know if anyone's out there," Daniel said, "But there's a whole bunch of bodies over here."

"Let's go check it out," Derek said as he pulled the .38 from his pants. Daniel had kept a few shells from each weapon they owned in his pocket. Contrary to what Derek had thought about him when everything first began to go down, Daniel had turned out to be very useful. After motioning for Alicia and Kevin to stay where they were at, he hobbled behind Daniel.

The woods they were in were a world apart from the small hiking trails surrounding Franklin. The four of them had to travel the paths and trails going through the dense woodland. Although it wouldn't have been hard for them to take off from the trails at any time, the shrubs and briars coupled with all the trees would have made it hard for them to move around quickly or comfortably, and that is not even considering the fact they might have to take off in a hurry.

The moon had been moving in and out of clouds for quite some time. Every time that it hid itself, they were hard pressed to move on for fear that they might not hear a twig snap or some leaves rustle to signal danger. Luckily the clouds had dispersed for the time being and Derek could make out the trees surrounding them with pretty good detail. Daniel stopped a good ways ahead of him, and Derek looked behind to check on Alicia and Kevin. After surveying the area around them, he nodded in satisfaction and hobbled over to Daniel.

"Holy shit," Derek said, his jaw dropping. A large circle of the woods had been cut and burned away for what appeared to Derek to be a huge funeral pyre. There seemed to be dozens, maybe even hundreds, of bodies piled on top of one another in the circle. Upon closer inspection, Derek had come to the conclusion that they were zombies, but had already been dispatched. Under the seemingly fresh bodies were others, charred and mutilated. Derek suspected that a bed of ashes laid underneath.

"You think it was those guys that took Karen?" Daniel asked.

"You can fucking bet on it," Derek replied, "And if those fucks killed all of the bastards, they must be some mean mother fuckers."

"We still have to find them," Daniel said, looking at Derek sternly.

_This kid is fucking crazy. He's going to get us killed. But Livie..._

"Yea, I know," Derek said, "But we won't be able to any good. We're just going to get ourselves killed."

"They might have my sister," Daniel said, "I have to make sure."

"You're fucking stupid, Daniel," Derek said, "Even if they do have her, what are you going to do? Maybe kill one or two of them before they blow your ass away? They're armed, Daniel, armed to the fucking teeth."

"Listen," Daniel said, "She is all I have left. I'm not leaving her."

"I'm not either," Derek said having made up his mind, "I'm just wondering if you know what we're up against."

With that, Derek waved for the other two to come on. While he didn't know exactly what to expect, he was determined to find Livie.

Again they trekked their way through the woods. Soon after, they began to come upon more corpses strewn about the trail. These had not been burned, and the extent of their injuries was gruesome. While it wasn't uncommon for one of the undead to have chunks of flesh or limbs missing, it was apparent that these corpses had been decimated. Limbs had been severed and were laying right next to the bodies, some having no limbs at all. Perhaps the most sickening thing of all was the naked women. Derek couldn't determine whether most of them had been living or undead when they had been killed, but they had obviously been assaulted.

Quietly they moved on. It was becoming hard for Derek to move with Alicia putting all her strength against him on one side and Kevin almost latching on to his leg on the other. The pain was beginning to become unbearable now, causing him to grind his teeth together. Alicia had done a good job of making sure that the splint stayed in place, but that didn't matter. Regardless of how much he used her and the stick, he still had to either drag his foot across the ground or exert the extra energy needed to keep it elevated.

_If we don't get to where we're going soon I'm going to fucking kill someone._

Just then, a huge structure became visible through the trees. Daniel moved quicker now, almost running, and he made it to the edge of another clearing. Derek grimaced as Alicia hurried him along to meet up with Daniel who was now laying prone on the ground, scanning the terrain with his rifle.

Derek slowly laid down next to him and looked across the field. A few hundred yards away was a massive house. It looked to be at least two if not three stories tall. Various parts of the outer walls seemed to be built out of different materials. The first story was undoubtedly built out of normal lumber, but patches of what seemed to be plywood littered above. He counted four windows on the second story and three on the first, each one with the lights on.

About fifty yards to the left of the house was a large barn, looming ominously against the moonlight. It looked much the same as any other barn in any other rural community in the U.S. The large boards on the sides, turned gray by the passage of time, almost radiated the area around them as they reflected the light of the house. Derek didn't know how everything was going to play out, but he knew what the first step would be.

"We need to make it to that barn," Derek said.

"Do you think this is where they went?" Daniel asked, lowering his face from the rifle.

"What do you think?" Derek retorted, "You're the one that knows how to run people down through the woods in the middle of the night."

"True," Daniel said, "From what I could tell this is the way that they headed. But do you think it's the right house?"

"We've been out here for hours," Derek said, "And this is the first house we have seen. I would say it's a pretty safe bet. First things first, though, we need to make it to that barn."

"What if there's zombies in it?" Daniel asked.

"I'd guess we're pretty well safe," Derek replied, "Those fuckers probably killed most of 'em off from the looks of things. If not, we'll just have to take it as it comes."

Daniel nodded to him and turned back to the house, apparently planning some sort of route. Derek turned to Alicia and Kevin, putting his finger over his mouth as he waved them towards him. Kevin began to run headlong, but Alicia grabbed his arm and led him along slowly, keeping their heads low. When they made it to Derek, Alicia squatted down beside of him, her facial expression eerily serene.

"We're going to go check out that barn," Derek said as he pulled the .38 out of his pants and handed it to Alicia, "Take this. If any of those dead fucks or crazy hillbillies get anywhere near you, open up on their asses."

"But," Daniel added quickly as he gave Derek disapproving look, "Don't use it unless you have to, or we'll have to deal with both of them."

"What the fuck ever," Derek said, "We're going now, so you two stay low and keep your eyes and ears open."

With that Derek turned away from them and focused his attention back on the house. Leaves rustled as Alicia and Kevin moved into the bushes, trying to find better concealment.

"Stay close to the tree line," Derek said, "That's the only way I see us getting there without being seen. We'll crawl army style and fuck these bastards up."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Daniel said as he began to crawl behind the trees to their left, "Let's go."

"Hold on," Derek said, pulling his stick up beside him, "I'm going first, we don't have time for you to fuck around and get us lost."

Daniel looked at him critically and raised his eyebrow, as if he had taken offense to this yet at the same time found it comical. Of course Derek didn't doubt Daniel's ability to find his way though the woods; he had already proven that by getting them as far as he had. In truth, Derek didn't want Daniel to be ahead of him in case something happened. With his bad ankle, he knew it wouldn't take Daniel long to get ahead of him. Derek had already seen several people torn apart by those creatures and he refused to watch Daniel face the same fate.

"You're stupid," Daniel said matter-of-factly, "We both know that I can move faster than you, and with that stick and your ankle you would be dead if some of those zombies came upon you, much less if some of those guys saw you and came outside. You stay behind me."

"Now you listen here you little..." Derek began, but before he could finish his sentence Daniel had already crawled several feet away from him.

"Dammit," Derek said under his breath as followed Daniel as best as he could. Daniel was moving fast, making it hard for Derek to keep up with him. Derek started to call out for him to slow down, but they had come too close to the house for them to risk it, so Derek moved as quickly as he could, holding the stick as he kicked off with his good foot and pulled with his elbows. The pain was excruciating. It seemed with every inch he moved, the sharper the pain shooting up his leg became.

Derek began to grunt heavily as they neared the barn. Sweat was rolling off his flushed face despite the cool night breeze. A few yards away from the barn, a sickening smell caught his nose. It smelled almost like the bitter-sweet smell of the rotting corpses on the trail, but something else overpowered his senses. It was the smell of gasoline, and looking over to his left, he saw another large pile of bodies, but this time they were all intact for the most part with the exception of their charred skin. As he pondered as to why they would burn the corpses of the already-dead zombies, a noise caught his attention.

He turned his head frantically from side to side while trying to maintain some sort of concealment. Once he was satisfied that there wasn't an immediate threat close to him, he glanced back up at Daniel. Daniel was motioning for him to keep his head low, then pointed off into the woods.

Derek turned his head, and what he saw made his heart jump. Through the dimly lit forest he could see a group of people moving slowly towards the house. At first there didn't seem to be too many of them, but the shuffling of feet and the snapping of twigs gave betrayed the fact that there were many more making their way behind the others. There was perhaps three hundred yards separating them from Derek and Daniel. Derek began to move, slowly now, towards Daniel once again, then he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

Looking back behind him he could see Alicia moving a near-crying Kevin along the tree line going at a right angle from where they had started, towards the right side of the house. Derek started to call to them, but he didn't want to risk alerting the undead to their position. Alicia had taken the initiative to get as far away from them as she possibly could, and if she got caught Derek figured that any fate she received was out of his hands now. Hopefully whatever predicament she would manage to get herself and Kevin into would be one that they could get out of themselves. Derek didn't see himself going to save them a second time, especially with a bad ankle.

Finally Derek had made it to the side of the barn. Even more carefully now he crawled around the side of it, casting a glance back at the oncoming horde. There didn't seem to be any of the quicker zombies in the throng, so they had for the most part meandered just a few dozen feet from where they had been when he spotted them. Sighing heavily, he entered the barn.

Daniel was posted up in the corner nearest the door, his .22 scanning the room. He had gotten there a good couple of minutes before Derek, and Derek was sure that he had already made sure the area was clear. Derek used the wall for leverage as he rose to his feet, leaning heavily on the stick.

"This is fucking bullshit," Derek said as he looked over a work bench near them for anything that might be useful.

"I just can't believe this is happening," Daniel said, sounding almost as if tears of frustration were about to pour from his eyes at any minute, "All I want is my sister. Why can't anything work out?"

"Because we're right in the middle of some pretty fucked up shit," Derek said, picking up a hatchet and a well-sized pipe wrench he had found. Placing the hatchet in his pants in place of the gun and awkwardly holding the pipe wrench in the same hand as the stick, he felt somewhat more prepared than he had been. He could also made out, just barely, an extension ladder on the opposite side of the wall.

"These fucks must be the ones that took Karen and killed Nick," Derek said.

"We don't know that," Daniel replied, "Look, do you think it might be better to tell them the zombies are here? We don't have hardly any ammo, and..."

"You've lost your damn mind," Derek said, "You tracked them here yourself. And even if they aren't the people we're after, I am pretty sure we're in the hollow the sheriff was talking about. We don't have much time, we have to act now."

"How?" Daniel said, visibly shaking now as the adrenaline level began to lower itself, "You think we can just bust in there with a few rounds and a wrench and kill them all?"

"Yes," Derek said as he smiled, "That's exactly what we're going to do. We're going in through the second story, though. Grab that ladder."

"You're... you're fucking insane!" Daniel said, "What if Livie isn't even in there? What if she got away and is already somewhere safe?"

"What if," Derek replied, "we're stuck out here with a bunch of crazy bastards looking to kill us and a small army of dead heads wanting to eat out our intestines?"

"At best we'll be trapped inside of that house with maybe a few guns," Daniel said, "And if worse comes to worse we'll all be dead!"

"Dammit," Derek said, limping over to the ladder, "Do you have any better ideas?"

Daniel stood there silently for a second, then looked down at the ground. Derek couldn't stand it when he did that; it was almost as if it was his defense mechanism. Whenever someone said something in any way confrontational, he would duck his head and just go silent.

_Great. Why is he choosing now to spaz out on me? _

"Well," Derek said as he leaned against the wall of the barn and grabbed the ladder in one hand, "I'm going. We don't have the time for this. When you're done crying like a baby you can come help, unless the zombies get to you first."

"Fuck you," Daniel said as walked down to the end of the ladder closest to the door and picked up on it. The commotion made by the paint cans falling off the other end made Derek a little irritated.

"Be a little more quiet, dumbass!" He scolded Daniel.

Daniel tried to jerk the ladder and run at first, but luckily he stopped himself before Derek dropped it. Once they got to the door, Daniel gave either side a quick glance and led the ladder and Derek towards the house.

Inside one of the windows on the first story Derek, for a split second, saw some of the worst living conditions he had ever seen. It was a small room, which had more than likely at one time been a bathroom judging from the black-stained toilet and the once-white tub. Now the tub and even the toilet seemed to serve as storage, while two small cots lined either side of the room. All manners of trash and garbage were littered around the floor.

Derek cursed silently as Daniel jerked the ladder from his grasp and walked it up until it was straight up into the air. Derek hobbled over to it and helped him lay it gently onto the side of the building, right next to one of the windows. Derek let the stick drop to the ground as Daniel began to climb when a voice startled him.

"Derek," Kevin said as he peered around the corner of the house with tears in his eyes, "More of those dead people are coming!"

"We saw them." Derek whispered to him, then it donned on him that him and Alicia were not in the safest place they could be. "What the fuck are you doing here? Where's Alicia?!"

"She's around the front of the house," the little boy said through his sobs, "watching the mean men get into their trucks." It took a second to register.

_Trucks. They're leaving in trucks. Dammit._

"Was Karen with them?" Derek asked, lifting his sore ankle onto the second rung of the ladder to ease some of the weight on it.

"No, I don't think so," Kevin said.

"Alright," Derek said, relieved, "That's good. Go tell Alicia that you two need to find somewhere safe."

With that, Derek began the climb up the ladder. With Alicia and Kevin around, he didn't think it would be too long before they made their presence known and attracted the attention of either the zombies or the residents of the house. In his current condition, he knew he wouldn't be able to watch over them. As far as he was concerned, they would just have to fend for themselves.

Daniel was already halfway up the ladder, and the Derek grimaced in pain as he pulled himself up the ladder, his bad ankle occasionally grazing the side of the ladder the wrong way or him inadvertently putting too much pressure on it due to the splint. Derek was only a quarter of the way up the ladder when a shot, followed by the sound of breaking glass startled him.

When he looked up, he had to turn his head and swing to the side quickly to avoid the small pieces of glass as the fell to the ground below; luckily, most of them had more than likely been blown into the room. When he turned back, he watched as Daniel fired another shot just before grabbing one of the shutters and leaping inside.

"That stupid fuck!" Derek said as he raced up the ladder, trying his best to block out the pain as he heard more shots.

Now that the window no longer stood between the room and the night air, the screams of both men and women could be heard. It took him a little under a minute to reach the window, and once the tears had cleared from his eyes he peered into the room.

A nude woman was huddled up in the floor next to a man, blood flowing out onto the floor; her piercing cries drowning out everything else in the room. Derek realized it was Karen, and his face began flushed with anger when he realized what had probably happened to her. Derek threw the pipe wrench into the window and grasped both sides of it as he pulled himself inside, looking frantically for Livie. His heart sank when he saw her; her restraints being cut away by Daniel. Apparently he had picked a knife from one of the three dead men laying in the floor. Derek let out a sigh of relief when he noted that she was still fully clothed.

Derek leaned up against the wall once he had gotten inside, glancing over it with his eyes. In the corner he saw a shotgun; an old-style single shot. There was also a long-barreled revolver on one of the couches side tables. Had the situation not been so dire, he probably would have laughed when he noticed that it was probably an exact replica of the gun Clint Eastwood made famous.

The sound of the ladder banging against the wall caught his ear. Quickly, he pulled the hatchet from his belt and pressed his body against the wall as hard as he could. Derek raised the hatchet above his head, ready to strike. Had Kevin not turned his face up towards Derek when he entered, Derek would have probably chopped his head off.

"Kevin! What..." Derek started when the wall splintered in front of his face, a loud shot booming through the room. He grabbed Kevin by the collar of the shirt as he fell backwards. Alicia's shriek could be heard outside the window as Derek and Kevin hit the floor. The two of them fell behind a couch, and another scream caused Derek to raise the hatchet, pushing Kevin off of him as he did so.

The scrawny woman, probably naked herself under the tattered afghan cover she had over her, cried heavily as Derek looked at her. She was sick maybe, judging from her weight and the paleness of her face, but Derek had to take the opportunity to gawk for a second at her exposed leg and upper thigh as the woman tried to wriggle away from him.

"Fuck!" Derek yelled as he pulled Kevin over to his left side, careful to keep him far enough away from the screaming woman so he could defend him from her if need be. Briefly, he poked his head out from behind the couch and looked towards the door. A man with a rather nasty looking mullet was standing in the door, brandishing what Derek surmised from the sound of the shot as a .45. Livie had ducked into the corner as Daniel stood in front of her, ready to defend her to the death. Derek could only guess he was out of bullets. In the split second before he lowered his head Chuck, who was bloodied and battered, pressed up against the wall next to the door holding a small lamp above his head.

Two more shots found their way into the wall next to Derek, one piercing through the couch. As soon as he heard the crash of glass, he stood as best as he could on one leg and hurled the hatchet at the man. Another sharp pain shot up his leg and he buckled to the floor, landing in plain sight of the attacker. With the look of a deer in the headlights, Derek looked up. The man was cursing quietly, his gun falling to the floor. The hatchet had found it's mark in his abdomen.

Derek felt incredibly stupid when he remembered the revolver on the side table. Before the man had time to react, he snatched it up and fired blindly into the doorway. While he didn't know if there was a safety on the revolver or not, the gun exploded, threatening to rupture his eardrums. Once the kick of the gun had subsided and he was able to bring it down once again, he fired another shot, but it blasted through the wall as the man slumped down against the wall. Blood oozed from a gunshot wound to his chest.

"I knew you would come!" Livie said as she bolted from her spot on the ground and wrapped her arms tightly around Daniel. Derek smiled, then looked back over to the woman. Her face was a dark shade of red. At first, Derek thought that she was embarrassed, but that idea soon lapsed.

"You bastard!" she said, gritting her teeth, "You mother fucking bastard! You killed them!"

Derek was puzzled. As far as he was concerned, he and Daniel had just saved her life. However, as the adrenaline pumped through his veins to fight off the exhaustion, he lashed out at her.

"Listen here you stupid bitch," he said as he pointed the gun at her, "I've had about enough shit for the night, and don't think I won't blast your fucking brains out here and now if you try to start some more shit!"

Chuck moved towards him, more than likely in hopes of getting Derek to lower his weapon, but a voice from the window caught his ear.

"Derek, no!" Alicia screamed as she fell through the window. With a speed Derek didn't know she possessed, she jumped to her feet and ran beside him and grabbed his arm. Tears streamed from her eyes as she looked down on the woman.

"Mom?" she said though her sobs. Footsteps pounded up stairs somewhere through the house as the moans of the undead began to rise in the night air.


	15. Caught In The Crossfire

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 16 - Caught In The Crossfire**

"How could you!?" Alicia screamed, her tears dropping to the floor, "How could you leave me there all alone?"

"You don't understand!" Lori said, "They protect me and make sure I have everything I need!"

"They give you the drugs you need, don't they?" Alicia said, then motioned at her partially exposed naked body, "And is this all you have to do for it?"

"You don't understand!" the woman said as she gritted her teeth, looking spiteful enough to slap her daughter.

Derek shook his head in confusion, the footsteps sounding as if they had reached the top of the stairs. Daniel had already grabbed the shotgun. Derek looked Alicia up and down, finally eyeing the .38 sticking out of the back of her pants. The young girl didn't even notice as he grabbed it and tossed it to Livie, although she was still choked up from what had happened. Derek cursed himself for not turning the safety on as he tossed, then cursed Alicia for not turning it on.

"Look, this warming and all," Derek said as he kneeled down and dug in one of the men's pockets, luckily finding a handful of shotgun shells, "But I think the shit is really hitting the fan. We don't have time for your dysfunctional family reunion right now."

With that Derek hobbled over and handed Daniel the shells. The footsteps got closer as Daniel cocked open the gun and saw that it was loaded. Derek let out a yelp as he mis-stepped in the excitement and landed on his bad ankle. Livie, not understanding what was wrong, came instantly to his side and held him up, the .38 in hand.

"Here," Chuck said as he grabbed the revolver from Derek with his left hand. His voice was hoarse from screaming and blood matted the hair over one of his eyes. Had Derek not heard his voice he might not even had known that it was Chuck.

"I might not be a good shot with my good hand crippled," Chuck said, "But I'll be a lot better than you are!"

Daniel stepped out into the hallway, firing the shotgun as he did. A man screamed at the top of his lungs just after the explosion knocked Daniel down onto the floor and sent him sliding back out of view. Livie screamed and almost dropped Derek as she rushed towards the door. Chuck beat her there, and just as he fired his first shot a bullet ripped through his right shoulder.

The pain had to have been unbearable, but the old man stood his ground as he fired another shot. Derek used the wall for leverage as he made his way to the door. Another shotgun blast caught him off guard, almost making him fall once again. Livie stepped out beside Chuck and opened up with the .38. The screams of the man from the hall had subsided now, and all that was left was the whimpering of what appeared to be an old woman.

Derek peered back towards Karen. She hadn't moved from the spot she had been when the entire fiasco had started. Derek's blood boiled as he watched her lay in the fetal position, crying like a small child.For everything in his life that he might have done, some things were just too despicable for any human being to undertake. He might have hated the woman, but regardless she didn't deserve what had happened to her.

"Please, don't hurt me," an old woman pleaded from her knees as Derek peered out into the hall. She was a raggedy old thing, with her long, white hair frizzed into a cluttered mess. Her hands and finger nails were black with dirt and grime. What few teeth she had in her mouth were dark and jagged. Weight-wise she made Lori look like a sumo wrestler.

"Who are you?" Daniel asked as he held the shotgun to her head. Derek knew that it wasn't loaded; Daniel hadn't had the time to reload since his last shot. It was Derek's best guess that the woman knew this as well, but Livie and Chuck were more than likely the reason she hadn't moved for the weapon.

"Irene," the old woman sobbed, "Irene. You... you just killed my babies!" When she said that she grabbed something off to her side and from the sound of her muffled crying she had buried her head in something; Derek couldn't tell as he tried to look past the others. He climbed across the hallway wall, and once he had gotten past them he saw that what she had grabbed was the body of a younger man, perhaps as old as the one he had killed with the hatchet. His eyes stared blankly up at the ceiling as blood trickled out of his mouth. Daniel's first shotgun blast had apparently taken out most of his stomach; Livie must have finished the job.

"Shoot her in the fucking head," Derek said, "Then we can do the same to the rest of these fucks."

"Oh, no," Irene said, cupping her hands over her mouth, "Please just leave me alone!"

Just then, a still-nude Lori came rushing past them and huddled up against the old woman. Derek scoffed as he looked down at the two of them. It was probably a good thing that he didn't have a gun. If he did, he most likely would have done his part to help cleanse what was left with the human race.

"Leave her alone!" Lori said as she tried her best to cradle the old woman, "Just leave us alone! Haven't you done enough already!?"

"Mom..." Alicia said as the gun shook in her hand, "These are bad people, please, just come..."

"Shut up, you little bitch!" Lori screamed at her. Derek watched as her tiny breasts jiggled slightly as she convulsed, hardly able to contain her rage, "You don't have any idea what's going on! And now you and these bastards have ruined everything!" Suddenly, her face contorted as tears began to well in her eyes.

"Who's going to take care of me now?" Lori choked as she put her head on the old woman's shoulder, "Where am I going to go?"

"Mommy, please..." Alicia started again, but gun shots rang out in the distance.

"Fuck!" Derek said, "Look, we really don't have time for this. Waste these two skanks and let's figure out how the hell we're going to get out of here!"

"Leave them be," Chuck said as he pressed on the wound on his shoulder. Kevin had ran out into the hallway and buried his head into Chuck's leg. The old man just patted the little boys head "They won't do us any harm now."

"What the fuck ever," Derek said, then turned to Daniel, "Round up every gun and all the ammo you can find. The rest of you fucks find a window and post up. We need to know who the hell is shooting and how many stiffs there are."

"'Stiffs'?" Daniel said, maintaining a look of seriousness as Daniel glared at him.

"Move!" Derek yelled, then grabbed Kevin by the arm as he tried to scurry past him as he followed closely behind Chuck.

"Stay close to us," Derek told him, then looked over at Irene and Lori, "I don't want you to be around those people."

Kevin nodded, then hurried off to rejoin Chuck. Lori stared coldly ay him, Derek never taking his gaze off her nude body. She had to have known he was eyeing her. In fact, he tried to make it obvious. Had he seen her fully clothed, possibly out in a grocery store somewhere, he would have turned his nose up at her. Now, however, there was something alluring about her.

"Mom, please..." Alicia said again, speechless now.

"Shut up you little bitch!" Lori replied, "You don't have any idea what's going on. Now leave me the fuck alone!"

Alicia turned and sped down the hall to the stairs to join the others, with the exception of Daniel who was ransacking the rooms for any guns and ammo he could find. Derek stood there for a moment, partially out of indecision as to what to do with the two of them but mostly because of the throbbing pain in his leg. Watching Lori fawn over the old woman like a little child almost made him puke.

"You're fucking sick," Derek said, "The both of you. I hope you rot in hell."

"Listen here mother fucker," Lori said as she jumped to her feet. Derek reared his hand back to knock her back to the floor. She almost tripped over Irene as she frantically backed away, looking terrified as her courage suddenly left her.

"Don't fucking touch me," Derek said as he stomped towards her. Just as he was almost upon her, he turned into the bedroom.

The floor was covered with blood now with all the bodies nearly drained. It's metallic stench gripped Derek's nostrils, forcing him to take a moment to process the smell. It was almost sweet to him, perhaps like a taboo. He savored for just a bit before he looked over on the couch at Karen.

Her face was contorted, looking almost like an abstract painting in the contrasting colors of the room's furniture. She had wrapped herself up in a filthy looking blanket. At first she made no noise as Derek looked upon her. Derek wondered if the trauma had temporarily frozen her facial features into the hideous mask they were now. Slowly, he walked over to her from the doorway. His ankle was still excruciatingly sore, causing him to limp a bit, but with the adrenaline rush he was feeling now he imagined that might have eased much of the pain. However, some sort of walking stick was still high on his list of items to procure.

"Don't look at me!" Karen screamed as she turned her head away from him. Almost subconsciously she covered her breast with her hands and crossed her legs tightly, even though she was covered by the blanket.

"We're in some serious shit," Derek said, ignoring her command, "More of those hillbillies and some zombies are outside. We need you to get your cloths on and help us find ammo, guns, anything we can use."

This was met with a restrained whimper and a choking cough. Derek knew she had just gone through the most horrifying and degrading experience that anyone could ever go through. That was an issue for another time though. While he hadn't been downstairs to look outside at what they were facing, he knew it wasn't good by any stretch of the imagination. Chuck had said that these people were some sort of paramilitary clan. Had they not been preoccupied with Karen, it was very possible that they might have spotted and killed Daniel and Derek before they had even reached the barn. Now it seemed that more of the were outside.

"Karen, snap out of it," Derek continued, "We don't have time for this shit."

Still, she just hung her head low. All this was beginning to wear Derek's patience thin. Exhaustion. Pain. Desperation. It all coupled together and threatened to wear his resolve away to dust. In the state he was in, it wouldn't take much for him to pick Karen up by her shoulders and knock some sense into her. Were it not for his ankle, he probably would have done just that. After a few more seconds of looking down on her ravaged body, he scoffed and hobbled back out into the hallway.

Holding the wall for support again, he began to move past Irene and Lori. The two of them were still in the middle of the hallway, both of them crying. Derek thanked them silently for not wailing out loud. Any more aggravation than he had already would most likely be met with a shot to the head, if he could get his hands on a firearm.

There were a couple of rooms on either side of the hallway as Derek made his way to the stairs. As he moved along the wall, he made careful note that each one of them was hardly what he would consider habitable for most human beings. Coupled with the stomach churning smells of body odor and something reminiscent of urine, stained linens and all manner of filth were scattered across the floor of each room. Derek was worried that he would gag and vomit when someone bumped into him as they ran out into the hallway.

"Hey!" Derek said as he stumbled back along the wall. Daniel looked shocked as he cradled a couple of rifles and some boxes of shells in his arms.

"Sorry!" Daniel said, a look of relief coming over his face, "I found these. The case for this one says it's a .40. And the other one..."

"It's another fucking .22," Derek said as he looked it over in Daniel's arms, "But at least this one has a clip on it. Are there any more?" Daniel nodded.

"I've already taken them downstairs along with a little pistol I found," Daniel added.

"Alright," Derek said, impressed with Daniel's initiative,"Did you find any shells for the shotgun and the revolver?"

"For the shotgun," Daniel said, "But nothing for the revolver."

Mentally, Derek took inventory of all the weapons they had. The .22 and the .38 they had from the beginning. In addition to that there were a couple of handguns, the assault rifle, the shotgun, a .40, and the other .22.

_I don't know if this will be enough, but we'll give some bastard a run for his money._

Just before Derek told Daniel how proud he was of him for taking charge, more gunshots rang out, the sound of the bullets tearing through the glass windows downstairs. Daniel turned and dashed down the stairs, Derek hobbling behind him.

"What the fuck's going on!?" Derek yelled as he reached the bottom of the stairs, holding onto the rail.

"Get down!" Daniel yelled as he laid on the ground, loading the .22.

A new round of bullets struck the house, causing Derek to fall onto his side. Within seconds, Alicia was at his side. Frantically Derek looked around the room. Apparently it was the living room, although he couldn't find a t.v. anywhere. The floor was much like those upstairs; filthy with old, dirty plates, papers, linens. To his left was the kitchen, and through the small walkway he could see the kitchen door, a decayed face staggering closer to it.

"The doors!" Derek screamed over the sound of Chuck, Daniel, and Livie returning fire, "Who locked the doors?!"

"I did!" Livie said, her hands trembling as she cocked the .22 where she laid under one of the windows.

Daniel slid the .40 and a brick of ammo across the floor to Derek. He put his hand on the gun as he continued staring around the room. There were two couches and a recliner set up in a circle in the center of the room. Derek's first thought was to lay them down to use as a sort of barricade, but he realized that it wouldn't do much good considering the only place the could fire from was the three windows. Judging from the various sounds of the guns, they had at least one fully automatic rifle as well as a couple of single shot or semi-automatics. This didn't look good at all.

_Gun-toting psycho bastards out front, zombies out back. Me and Chuck are both fucked up. Karen is freaking out in a bad way. That leaves Daniel, Livie, Alicia, and Kevin. Fuck. We can't fight both of them. Dammit... Wait a minute. Zombies in the back..._

"Daniel!" Derek said as an idea came to him, "Take this .40 and run upstairs! Get in one of the front windows and make sure those fuckers don't get to close to the house!"

"But what if the zombies get in?" Daniel asked just before Chuck fired the assault rifle, using his left hand awkwardly.

"No, no, no," Derek said as he shook his head, "They will move to the front when they hear those bastards shouting."

"Then all of them will be out front!" Alicia said, raising her head up to face him.

"Exactly!" Derek said, "We'll let them fight it out! Daniel, make sure you shoot those dead fucks upstairs in the head, or stomp on them. Either way I don't want them getting up!"

Daniel nodded and crawled over to Derek, swapping rifles with him and laying the shotgun and shells he had grabbed next to Livie. Daniel then bolted up the stairs. Derek began to crawl over next to her when he heard a gunshot upstairs. Daniel shouted, then came tumbling back down. He landed next to Derek with a loud thud, the rifle sliding through the stair rail.

"Daniel!" Livie screamed as she jumped up. Derek tried to turn to look up the stairs, but when he did another sharp pain shot up his leg. Livie quickly raised the shotgun up to her shoulder and staggered back several feet when the shell exploded into the chamber, sending buckshot up the stairs. When Derek finally turned his whole body, Irene's dead body greeted him on the stairs, her right shoulder blown away as well as half of her head. He then shifted his gaze to Daniel, who was patting himself down desperately as the handgun Irene had clattered to the floor at Daniel's feet.

"I'm ok," Daniel said, wide-eyed as he picked up the gun she had dropped. Livie's scream jolted both of them as a bullet whizzed by her head, finding it's mark in the wall as Livie ducked down.

"Go!" Derek yelled as he crawled towards the window, cradling the .22 as he went.

Daniel went back up the stairs again. Karen played for a second through Derek's mind as he wondered if she was alright, but he pushed the thought into the back of his mind as he made it to the window.

Chuck looked over at him from beside the other window. Livie, still visibly shaken, came right up beside Derek. Derek patted her on the back, then put his hand gently on the back of her head and looked her in the eyes.

"You did good," he said, "Now reload the shotgun and stay down. If I see any of them getting close to the house I will tell you which way to aim it and I want you to get up and shoot."

The rifle echoed from upstairs. Derek had hoped Daniel was smart enough to kill Lori before she caused any trouble like Irene had. Two more shots rang out, and Derek was satisfied that Daniel was doing his job. Kevin's low sobs caught his attention, and when he looked over he noticed that he was laying on his stomach next to Chuck.

"Listen up," Derek said, "Chuck, you and me will cover the yard, but watch out for any zombies that might..." Derek was interrupted by the zombie banging on the kitchen door, "... that might try to get in through the window. Alicia, I might need you to relay messages to Daniel. But be quick and don't get shot, ok?" Alicia nodded, then hugged him awkwardly.

"Ok, everyone," Derek said as he pushed Alicia off of him gently, "Don't waste ammo, and let the zombies and those mother fuckers duke it out. Alright Chuck, go!"

Derek popped his head up busted out the last remaining window with the butt of his gun. As Chuck let loose a few rounds, Derek took in the terrain. The front of the house was a couple of dozen yards or so from the dirt road which ran in front of the house. Two pickup trucks were parked caddy-corner in the yard. There was some movement from the behind one of the trucks, but Derek guessed that most of the attackers had pulled back into woods on the other side of the road or behind the various farm equipment scattered about. A large tractor roughly twenty feet from the porch of the house concerned him greatly.

Almost as if right on cue, the undead began to stagger around the side of the house. Derek's heart jumped when he saw how his plan was working, but sank again once he noticed that they were all heading towards the front door and the windows. Unlike most porches, this one was just a long row of boards with no rail, giving them no obstacle or bottle-neck to corral them in to.

In a move of desperation Derek pushed himself up on his good leg, putting himself in full view of both the zombies and the attackers. Almost as quickly as he leapt up, he dropped down. The bullet that passed through the room and smashed somewhere back in the kitchen let him know one of the hicks had taken the bait. The .40 roared upstairs as someone yelled some obscenities outside. Derek poked his head up for a split second, just long enough to see that his distraction had worked; the zombies were now moving towards the trucks.

Gunshots roared outside. Alicia had covered her ears and was crying loudly as Derek crawled over to the unoccupied window. Struggling, he lifted himself up and began to pull the rifle up to his shoulder. A decayed face stared back at him when he looked out. The stench of putrid flesh overtook Derek's senses as he fell back, firing two shots before he hit the ground.

"Livie!" Derek screamed as two withered arms reached inside the window. The shotgun exploded and the arms flew back from the window. Derek pushed himself up to his feet, watching a man in over-alls bolt from behind tractor. The assault rifle sounded off to his left and the man fell, one of the shots striking him in the back. Although these zombies were slow, they converged on him with a speed that surprised Derek. Amid the man's screams, cussing was heard out in the woods, quickly silenced by Daniel's .40.

In the few seconds that had elapsed since Derek's last glimpse out the window, the attackers had thinned out the numbers of the undead considerably. At least a dozen or more bodies littered the yard, however he couldn't be sure how many of them Daniel had taken down. The Tahoe caught his eye protruding from the side of the house. It should still have a considerable amount of gas, and was probably the most valuable thing to them right now.

"Alicia, crawl into the kitchen and see how many are out back!" Derek yelled, dropping back down to the ground.

As she went, Derek carefully listened to the guns as the fired outside. At least two small caliber rifles, he noted. Chuck raised up and fired a few more shots before pulling to the side of the window.

"We got more zombies coming!" Chuck yelled before pulling the rifle back around and stepping back into the window.

"There's still more out back!" Alicia said from the kitchen, fighting to hold back the tears.

"Derek," Livie cried out from behind one of the couches, holding her shoulder, "It hurts!"

_Dammit!_

Derek hadn't taken into account the kick from the gun. He only hoped she hadn't broken her arm. That was one of the last things he needed right now.

"Aim to kill!" Derek yelled as he sprang up once again. This time he took time to aim and fired a round right into the back of one of the zombies' heads. As it fell, he watched to see where the rest of them were going. A few still came up to the windows from the sides, but most of them were heading out into the woods. Derek risked one more shot before ducking down again.

Kevin was crying loudly now. Derek thought it was a horrible thing how he had to go through all of this. It equally bothered him that Alicia, Daniel, and Livie had to as well. As he laid on the floor for a split second, he wished that he could do something to make everything better; something that wasn't just an escape into some other foul predicament. He deserved to be here, and Chuck had already lived his life. The rest of them, however, were just kids. From the looks of it they were all good kids. A fate like this shouldn't be reserved for them.

Derek didn't have time to ponder things, however, as he heard Daniel's voice from upstairs.

"Don't shoot! It's the sheriff!"

Derek peered out the window again. Indeed, Sheriff Carp and Paula were blazing a trail through the undead massed in the yard. The sheriff was armed with an axe, and Paula with what Derek could only describe as some sort of a short, metal pole. A barrel illuminated itself in the woods for a split second, the bullet striking just at Paula's feet as Sheriff Carp decapitated two zombies. Derek raised the rifle, trying to get a clear shot through all of the zombies, but the .40 roared once again. A loud scream was followed by a man falling from behind one of the trees. Derek snickered as the man began to crawl away, the undead in hot pursuit.

Alicia jumped for the door and fumbled with the lock for a second before swinging the door open. Sheriff Carp crashed into her, and a crying Paula slammed the door behind them.

Neither one of them looked too good. Derek could tell the sheriff was an utter mess when he finally stood up. His cloths were ripped, and dark blood stained almost every inch of his clothing. When Derek first met him he looked like the pinnacle of fitness for a man his age, but now his shoulders heaved heavily and his legs trembled. Paula didn't look much better, but at least the staining of her cloths seemed to be limited to only mud. As much as Derek hated to admit to himself, he was glad to see the both of them.

"Sheriff!" Alicia said as she pressed herself up against him. Sheriff Carp just stroked her hair as he looked over at Derek and Chuck.

"You've got most of 'em," Sheriff Carp said, his voice thick with exhaustion, "But I know that Danny and Thadeus Howell are still out there."

"How do you know that?" Derek asked, keeping an eye on the windows.

"We watched them pull up," Paula said as she sank to the floor, her back against the wall. The .40 erupted once again.

"Make that just Danny," Chuck said as he glanced outside.

"How many zombies are out there?" Derek asked as he turned to the sheriff.

"Maybe ten," Sheriff Carp huffed, "At least that's all I could see out front. There might be a few coming... coming around the side of the building."

Sheriff's Carps eyes betrayed the exhaustion, mental and physical, that he was suffering from. Derek got aggravated when he noticed how bad the sheriff's hands were trembling.

_Great. A couple more useless fucks to take care of._

The light coming in the two windows to the left was suddenly blacked out. Derek cursed as he turned to see half a dozen or so trying to make their way inside. As Derek pulled the rifle around, another round of screams was heard outside, and the gunfire ceased.

Paula screamed from behind Derek and turned to run up the stairs. Chuck was on his game, and crippled hand and all he managed to drop two of them coming through his window before pulling back to reload. Alicia picked up the shotgun and aimed it at the other window, but to no avail; not only was it unloaded, Derek seriously doubted that she knew how to reload it.

Meanwhile, Derek picked his shots. They might have been as rapid as Chuck's, but he managed to blow the back out of the skull of a rather obese man, his chest and stomach torn to shreds, as he tried to scramble in through the opening. This left only two or three more outside on the porch. Derek smiled, realizing that his plan had come to fruition. As far as he could tell, the men outside had been either killed or ran off, and the undead had been dwindled down to a number he could manage.

This sense of victory was cut short, though, as glass shattered in the kitchen. Desperation and anger gripped him as he leaned up against the wall next to the window, looking back to where the noise had come from. When he did, he noticed an arm protruding through the glass of the window. Derek strained to make out more of the situation, but some was behind the door, pressing on it with some great force. It had to be...

"Hey!" Derek yelled, "The kitch..."

Before he could finish, the door busted off of it's hinges. As it fell, Derek could now see exactly what was pressing on it as a tightly packed group of the undead slammed to floor, only to be trampled by those waiting behind them to feast on the flesh of Derek and his companions.

"Fuck!" Derek yelled as he pulled the rifle up to his face. All his collectiveness and calm fell away as he was confronted with another round of the shambling hordes as the made their way through the kitchen. He quickly emptied the rifle in hopes he could halt their advance long enough for the others to get ahold of themselves. A bony old hag fell to the ground, and the kitchen began to fill with the undead as they surged forward.

Derek stumbled back, raising the rifle to swing as a once-burly man stepped towards him. The rifle was of no use as the zombie grabbed it, exhibiting an almost super human strength as it wrenched it from Derek's hands. He could barely make out the shouts and screams around him as he exerted every ounce of energy he had to ward off the zombie, backing up against the wall for support. The jaws of the zombie, a good half foot taller than Derek, bore down just inches from him as the back of his head slammed into the wall. His vision went blurry, and Derek had trouble focusing in on the zombie now as the pain in both his leg and head shattered his concentration. His muscles ached, and for a brief second he wanted to just let go; to let the fate that awaited him happen.

Slowly at first, Derek's resolved waned, his grip on the zombie loosening. Hands reached out for him from every side. On his chest he could feel the pressure of the other creatures bearing down on the one attacking him, hoping to pull him from the zombies grasp. This was it, the end of the line. Derek's muscles gave way, the victims of fatigue. His hands lowered, and Derek closed his eyes.

A loud yell jolted Derek back from the abyss. A loud thud caught his ear, and the weight on top of his fell away, a series of dull pops surrounding him. Someone was pulling him. His head was pounding, a sign at least that his heart was still pumping. He staggered away from the noise, a sharp pain in his ankles jerking his eyes wide open.

Sheriff Carp was standing in the middle of the fray, wielding the axe much like he had his baton earlier that night. Three or four if the undead already laid at his feet, but more kept rushing into the kitchen.

"Go!" the sheriff said, landing another blow with his axe, "Get to the trucks! Now!"

Derek's vision returned to him somewhat, periodically blotted with darkness as his head continued to pound with the rhythm of his heart. Alicia and Livie we're both tugging on him now, Alicia trying to support Derek's weight. Livie's arm raised up, and the .38 flared. Then there were the thuds; Derek turned his head and in between the pounding darkness, he could make out Daniel shoving two women down the stairs.

Derek watched as the hands grasping for Sheriff Carp became more and more. The shotgun laid on the ground at his feet, and he struggled against the girls to reach for it. Keeping his eyes on the sheriff as he tried to break away from them, he pulled free from Livie.

_I have to help him... have to tell him... I understand..._

"Move!" Daniel yelled as he shoved them all towards the door. Derek was knocked back, watching as Daniel snatched up the shotgun. Suddenly he felt the cool night air on the back of his neck as some one opened the door. Again, Derek struggled in vain against them.

"We have to help James!" he heard Paula say from behind them. The gunshots from inside the building let Derek know that at least someone was in there, probably Chuck and Daniel.

"Go!" he heard the sheriff say. Derek and the women were outside, Livie and Alicia pushing him towards the Tahoe. Paula dashed past him and straight in the direction of the two trucks their assailants had arrived in. Looking towards the door again, Derek saw Kevin emerge, then Daniel and Chuck, posting up either side of the door to fire their weapons. A thick stain now covered Chuck's right arm and chest.

"Daniel!" Livie screamed, "There's more zombies!"

"Let go of me, dammit!" Derek yelled as he fought to break away from them still. His body still ached, and his breathing was coming in short rasps now.

Daniel and Chuck were both yelling, and suddenly pulled away from the doors, the undead beginning to push their way out. Derek thought he saw the axe raise a couple more times as they fled for the trucks, but he couldn't be sure. Averting his attention to the sides of the house, he could see Livie's reason for alarm. Several rotting corpses had made their way around the building. It wouldn't be long before they were overwhelmed.

Truck doors slammed behind him, and the sound of Alicia and Livies' pleading pierced his ears. He heard a vehicle start, and then another. Keeping his eyes on the house, he waited for the sheriff to break out of the house any moment.

Alicia and Livie pulled away from Derek, and he stumbled into the truck. Stronger, firmer hands grasped him now. Derek was whirled around until he was facing Daniel.

"Dude, please," Daniel said with tear stained cheeks, "We have to go now!"

Daniel proceeded to shove Derek into the passenger side of the truck. Derek noted he had sat on something landed on something hard and uncomfortable; it processed for a moment before he realized that it was a gun. Kevin's incessant bawling from the middle of the seat made his head hurt even worse.

"Mom, please!" Derek heard Alicia scream. Sitting up in the seat, he turned to see her standing in the door of the truck. Karen was sitting on the opposite side, frantically trying to lock the door. She was covered in the same blanket she had been upstairs.

"Get in the truck!" Alicia screamed, the wavering in her voice betraying the fact she was crying.

"No," he heard Lori say, then focused on her as she backed away from the truck. As far as Derek could tell, all she wore was a shirt which had apparently belonged to one of the deceased men, judging by from how it came to her knees. "They'll take care of me, they'll take care of both of us!"

"Mom, no they won't," Alicia said, "Please come with us."

"They said they'll give me anything I could ever want," Lori said as she continued to back track, "Anything!"

"Mom!" Alicia screamed as her mother turned and began to run for the woods. Alicia let out one of the most painful cries Derek had ever heard in his life As Livie shoved her into the truck. Alicia fell into the floor board as Livie slammed the door shut. Daniel jumped in beside Kevin and pulled the Tahoe down into reverse. There were several thuds as the hands of the undead reached them.

Derek's stomach reeled as the Tahoe's tires slung gravel and dirt as it turned. Then they were on the road. Derek turned around to see the headlights of the other truck following them. He then cast one last glance back at the house.

"Fuck!" he screamed as they went off into the night; the first rays of morning just reaching the treetops.


	16. An Afternoon Drive

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 17 - An Afternoon Drive**

It was probably the blinding sun that had made Derek struggle against the walls of sleep, or perhaps the pain shooting up his leg and the slight throb in his head. He had taken his shoes off, though, giving him some minor relief from his ankle. Regardless, he was miserable. 92.9 was the only information he was getting from the radio's digital display. All he would have had to do was press the display button to see the time, were it not for his still-exhausted state.

Kevin snored softly, his head pressed up against Derek's side. A cold spot had developed on Derek's shirt, the child's drool freezing him as the cool air from the air conditioner hit it. A couple of times Derek wanted to push Kevin over onto Daniel as he drove; let Daniel be his pillow for a while. For a strange reason, however, Derek almost enjoyed it. It was as if the looming end of humanity had given him some affinity for the boy and the little quirks about him.

Judging from the position of the sun, Derek guessed it was somewhere around ten or eleven. At the most he had gotten four hours of sleep, seeing as how he had been awake for probably an hour. It wasn't enough to make him feel rested, but at least he could function. At a time like this that was all anyone could ask for.

Livie was curled up against the door as he glanced into the rearview window. This gave Derek a small sense of comfort. She had been through a lot in the last few days, a lot more than anyone should ever have to go through, let alone a teenage girl. Strangely, for a second it made Derek feel like everything was going to be alright.

Next to her, Karen wept quietly in her sleep, sometimes mumbling to herself. Derek could only imagine what kind of nightmares she must be having. The filthy blanket she had wrapped herself up in did not do her any justice at all. Derek assumed that when she finally awoke she would want some cloths of some sort, if she was anywhere close to a right frame of mind.

Like everyone else but Daniel, Alicia was snored softly as well. Derek's heart really went out to the girl. It was one thing to lose your parents to a death or separation, but to find that your mother had abandoned you when you needed her most and then watch he run away from you would be totally heart wrenching.

"Why aren't we there yet?" Derek asked, pulling a pack of cigarettes from the dash and lighting one up.

"There was a pretty bad pile up," Daniel said, Derek noticing as he looked at him how bloodshot his eyes were, "And of course there were a few zombies stumbling around."

"Why didn't you wake me up?!" Derek almost screamed at him, "If it was just a few we could have taken them!"

"Doesn't matter," Daniel replied, "Either side of the road was fences and trees. Paula and Chuck said that they knew another way, but it would take seven or eight hours."

"So you got out of the truck to talk to them?" Derek said condescendingly.

"No," Daniel replied, "They pulled up beside me."

"Whatever," Derek said, anxious to get out of the truck for a bit. Quickly he changed the subject. "What about the others? How are they?"

"They're alright, I guess," Daniel said, "They've all been through some pretty crappy stuff. Livie is holding up pretty good. Everyone else have been quiet, except Karen cried for about an hour before finally drifting off to sleep.

"I don't know, Derek. Why do people have to be like the ones that did that to her? I mean, the world is coming to an end. Right now everyone is fighting to live, and you have people like that wanting to rape and kill people. I know we stole this truck, and it might not have been right, but it's a lot worse to kill someone. I just don't see why people have to be so hateful and mean."

Derek sat there silently for a minute after Daniel had finished, the pause in the conversation signaling his cue to supposedly say something witty and comforting. Derek didn't think he could, though. He knew why people acted like that. They wanted the power. Power over other people, or the power to settle age-old wrongs and feuds. Aside from the few actually insane people out there, that's what they all wanted. Even Derek did. As he pondered Daniel's question, he knew he would have to do some soul searching. Sheriff Carp's voice echoed in his mind; _...there will be a new world. You won't be bound by your past anymore..._

"There's just a bunch of assholes in the world," Derek said, not wanting to talk any further on the subject, "Hopefully this whole fucking mess will weed them out, but for some reason I doubt it."

"Do you think..." Daniel started, but Derek stopped him when a voice came onto the radio, very unfamiliar from the monotonous drone of the pre-recorded statements they had been used to hearing.

"This is Phil Barbee, with WRJB News," a saddened, defeated voice said, "We are taping live from our secondary location. It has been confirmed that our station in Newton has been overrun, and while authorities have not been able to confirm casualties, we have been informed by state officials that we are probably looking at a worst-case scenario. My condolences go out to their families.

"I have a list of the remaining safe areas, so listen closely as many of them are now considered dead zones."

The announcer then read off a list of roughly thirty places. The first three or four areas were listed as "operable". The vast majority of the rest were deemed "compromised". Derek didn't know where he was transmitting from or the area this message was intended for, but judging from this information things weren't looking good.

"The Spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security," Phil continued, "Has stated that most of the major cities in the continental United States, while still in a state of emergency have been deemed stable. I would go into further detail, but that's a load of bullshit," Derek raised an eyebrow at the expletive, the FCC apparently the least of this man's worries now.

"I have seen first hand," Phil said, "That their idea of 'stable' is throwing more troops in and shooting anything that moves. I will admit we have positive reports coming in from some of the mid-western states, but as for the eastern and western coasts, _stay away from any heavily populated area._ Also, anything you hear about a safe area should be taken with caution. If you haven't been watching the major news stations, you should know that there are possibly hundreds of reported tragedies where the government was sending people to safe zones which had already been overrun with the undead."

Struggling with his words, the man continued on. He said nothing that surprised Derek. As he puffed away on his cigarette, then lit another, he listened half-heartedly as Phil Barbee filled them in on the current state of the world, the various war that had sprung up, and what different people had to offer on the subject. Phil had said, in a nutshell, that the Middle East and Asia were lost, the former engulfed in war and the latter to both war and the dense populations causing the epidemic to spread like wildfire. Absolutely all contact had been lost with the entire African continent with the exception of the embassy in South Africa.

As Derek continued to listen, he watched as the small pick-up truck chugged along in front of them. It was a ratty-looking thing, but it seemed to be an older model Toyota. At least the gas mileage was decent. On either side of them were vast fields, some with crops growing in them, but most of them were cleared. They seemed to extend for miles to tree lines almost too far away to see. For the first time since he had woken up, he realized that life seemed to be normal here. Granted he had only seen a few cars passing, but even then the passengers didn't seem like they were going anywhere in a hurry.

This almost dream-like experience ended as they came to a small town. Paula and Chuck slowed in front of them as they neared it. Derek noted Daniel's speed of twenty-five mph with some disdain, but kept his attention on what lay ahead, reaching for the .40 laying in the floorboard.

Sturdy, plain looking brick buildings lined the street. A quick glance down the road showed that the actual town only stretched for a few blocks at best, however there could be no idea how far the municipality itself encompassed. Glass and pieces of metal and plastic littered the street just outside of the first few buildings, the obvious remnants of a recent car wreck. This was furthered by a section of corner stones crushed at the store nearest to the incident. There were some stains on the road which Derek couldn't decide whether they were oil or blood, but it was evident that someone had attempted to clean up the area. An eerie feeling enveloped him as he looked the town over.

Signs read the usual words you would expect to see in a small downtown area; "Attorney At Law", "Hardware Store", etc. Every window had been boarded up on the first floor of the buildings, at least the ones which lined the road they were currently on. There was not a sign of life anywhere, nor any sign of zombies. Daniel looked at Derek with a confused look, and Derek replied by readying the .40.

One of the buildings up ahead caught Derek's eyes. Red brick, some of it stained over time to a dull, light brown color, gave way to darker shade of brown; almost a wooden texture. As they pulled closer, splotched of bright orange became more visible. Once they got closer, the reason why the town seemed so deserted became apparent.

"NO FOOD NO GAS LEAVE OR BE SHOT"

The little Toyota ahead of them sped up greatly just as Derek made out the words, the use of capital letters seeming to hammer a nail into an invisible coffin.

"Drive." Derek said as Daniel peered ominously at the letters on the side of the building. Whoever had written them had seemingly taken great care to fasten the large pieces of what Derek now knew was plywood to the building. They also looked for everything to be sorted out. Had they not, chances were they would have just spray painted the building itself.

"What the hell is going on!?" Daniel asked as he punched the gas pedal.

"Wha...what's wrong?" Alicia asked, slowly rising from her seat.

"Nothing," Derek said calmly, trying not to agitate matter worse than they already were.

"Why are people being like this?" Daniel asked, slamming his hand on the wheel. In his anger, he almost bumped the rear end of the Toyota. Derek felt his uneasiness slide away as he watched the town disappear into the rearview mirror.

"Thieves," Derek said, "Either that or they have been watching the news."

"But why are they turning people away?" Daniel said.

"Who?" Alicia asked, sitting up in her seat and staring back towards the town, now almost a speck in the distance. Alicia's movement seemed to jar Karen, who jumped up with a scream. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was, and that the blanket had fallen away from her breast. Her face turned red as she quickly snatched the blanket back up around herself and sobbed quietly.

"Those fuckers in that town back there," Derek said, "I can't say that I blame them. I wouldn't let some mother fuckers come and take all of my supplies, whether they paid for them or not. Still, I wouldn't mind blowing the whole fucking town down. I might just do it if we run out of gas." Derek then cast a glance back at Karen, catching a glimpse of Daniel as he rolled his eyes at Derek's last comment.

"Are you ok?" Derek asked Karen as he looked back in the rearview mirror, trying to show her some sort of compassion.

"No," she said against her sobs. Alicia reached in the back and rummaged around for a second, pulling up a bottle of water. She offered it to Karen, who took it and put it gently to her lips. Once she was done, she just let it fall into the seat next to her and looked out the window with a void look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you, Karen," Alicia said. There was a brief silence. Derek watched Karen's body tense up through the rearview mirror. He knew what was coming.

"Karen?" Alicia said. Livie touched Alicia's shoulder, but it was too late. Karen let out a loud wail that pierced Derek's eardrums. Alicia recoiled a bit, turning back to Livie who just shook her head.

"I...I need a bath..." Karen said, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the blanket with all her might. "Can we stop so I can take a bath?"

"We will," Daniel said, "We shouldn't be too far away from where we're going."

"No, I...I have to take one now..." Karen continued, trying her best to subdue her sobs. Although Derek saw how she was acting as a little pathetic given the circumstances, he was a bit relieved that she was finally talking.

"Just lay back down, and take another nap and we should be there by the time you wake up," Livie said carefully, as if she were trying to coax a small child.

"I'm... I'm tired," Karen replied, "But I need a bath. I need...I need Dave!"

Another ear-piercing cry filled the truck, causing Derek to cover his ears. Against the pounding in his head he could hear Karen utter incoherent sentences. He looked into the rearview mirror with a look of agitation just in time to see Alicia place her hand on Karen's shoulder.

"Karen, it's going to be..." she started.

"Don't touch me!" Karen screamed as she pulled away, then curled up against the side of the truck.

"Uh oh!" Daniel said, a sense of urgency in his voice.

Derek whipped his head around quickly, scanning the area ahead of Paula and Chuck. A figure shambled along the side of the road in the distance. At first Derek thought it was a normal person. Although they weren't walking per se, Derek surmised that a zombie wouldn't have the forethought to follow a road to any destination. It looked like a young man, judging from his hair and build.

Within a few seconds the little Toyota was just mere yards from the man, but instead of slowing down like Derek expected they would, he noticed the steady climb of the engine as they pulled away from them. Derek's heart raced for a moment at the sight of the zombie, but slowed as he realized it was the only zombie he could see for perhaps miles. The fact that they were in a fast-moving Tahoe definitely helped matters.

"Don't you fucking stop for this fuck," Derek said as he turned to Daniel, "We don't have the room or food for us, let alone somebody else."

"Look," was all Daniel could say as the man lunged for the truck. As they passed, Derek could see dark stains on the seemingly gray, tattered shirt the man wore. Chunks of masticated skin dripped from a hole in the side of shirt. Just before the truck bolted past him, Derek looked at his face. Aside from the fact he was growling and clawing at them, the wound was the only thing betraying the fact he was a rotting corpse.

"So much for peaceful," Daniel said as he continued along, casting a glance a glance into his rearview mirror.

"Where do you think that bastard was going?" Derek asked, "I mean, they don't have the reasoning power to know that road goes to a town. At least I hope not."

No one replied to his question, apparently a bit apprehensive at the prospect of these monsters having any resemblance of human intelligence. The only sound aside from the low hum of the engine was the radio announcer, continuing his spiel on current status of world events.

They drove on for another half-hour in silence. Derek had already went through two more cigarettes, milling the horrible revelation about the zombie's intelligence in his mind. Not much had changed on the plateau with the exception of the few houses and gas station they passed. Derek glanced over at the fuel gauge, showing less than a quarter of a tank, when he saw the station, and began to urge Daniel to pull in. Derek cursed loudly when he saw the two men with guns waving for the two vehicles to keep driving.

Several miles down the road the brake lights of the Toyota flashed on, barely visible in the afternoon sun. A turn signal soon followed, and Derek realized they were turning into the driveway of a house.

The yard was vast, looking like it was at least twenty yards. Although it hadn't been mowed for quite some time, Derek could tell that in spite of the weeds that sprang up here and there that whoever lived here must have taken very good care of it. There were bird baths, flowers, and exotic trees scattered all about the yard. A block walkway meandered to the right of the house, ending at very elaborate looking gazebo.

While not something Derek would expect to see on "Cribs", the house was considerably big and fancy-looking. It almost looked like a holdover from the nineteenth century plantations, especially considering the white paint and the two story wrap-around porch. In the driveway was an older-looking but well kept Mercedes alongside a later model Nissan Altima. Off to the side of the house was an old Ford truck.

"What the fuck do these assholes think they are doing?" Derek exclaimed as Daniel pulled in behind them.

"I guess we'll find out," Daniel said as he put the Tahoe in park. Derek's door was already opened before the truck came to a halt. Paula and Chuck had already exited their vehicle, Chuck wielding the assault rifle.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Derek exclaimed as he leaned against the truck for support. Paula moved towards him, the sensual sway of her hips now gone; her steps had become heavy and uncertain.

"Hey, chill out!" Paula said, her eyes heavy with sleep, "We're almost out of gas, and I figured this would be a good place to stock up since those assholes were at the gas station!"

Derek grumbled a bit under his breath, but realized the necessity of what she was staying. Warily, he eyed the house. There was no movement that he could see, but that didn't mean there wasn't someone, or something, inside.

"Whatever," Derek said as Alicia came to his side, silently offering to help him walk if need be. Derek wasn't surprised at this, and the touch of her soft skin as she slid her arm around him had a soothing feel about it.

"There's no gas here!" Livie said as she walked up, Derek noting her socked feet as he turned to see her. Daniel was beside her, brandishing the shotgun Chuck had used at the Police Department. Fortunately the hicks that had abducted him neglected to clean out the Tahoe. Kevin ran past Derek and headed straight for Chuck.

"Chuck!" Kevin yelled as he wrapped his arms around the man's leg, "Something is wrong with Karen!" Chuck cast a knowing glance back at the rest of them, then kneeled down, using the rifle for support.

"I know," he said with a forced smile as he patted Kevin on the head, "But she will be alright, lad. Does it feel good to stretch yer legs a bit?"

"I guess," Kevin said with a cute frown, oblivious to their current circumstances, "I am glad to get out of the truck because of Derek's stinky smoke!"

Everyone got a good laugh out of this with the exception of Karen, who had remained in the truck. Even Derek found humor in the little boy, and without even realizing it, he reached out and patted Kevin on the head.

"Well we need to get moving," Derek said, "We need to find out if anyone is home, and if they are, we might need to take this shit by force."

"Derek!" Livie gasped, "They're in the same shit we are! Is that the only way you know how to resolve things?"

"I agree with her," Chuck said, looking back to the house, "It's not a good thing to go around, gallivanting about and robbing people. The Lord doesn't looked too well upon it either."

"Well we won't know anything until we check," Daniel said, pulling the shotgun up to his chest.

"Damn straight," Derek said as he lumbered forward with Alicia, "Get me a gun and we'll go check this shit out."

"No, dude," Daniel said, "With that bad ankle, you don't need to be going in there. Me and Chuck will go, you stay out here and watch over the others."

"Who the fuck are you?" Derek asked, "My daddy?"

"He's right," Alicia said as she looked up at him, flashing the puppy-dog look some girls do. The strange thing was that Alicia actually looked sincere. "You don't need to be getting hurt any worse than you already are, and I'll feel safer out here with you anyways."

"Fine," Derek conceded, knowing he was fighting a losing battle, "Get me the big rifle in the front. Livie, get the .38. We'll stay out here and cover you."

Of course they there wouldn't really be any "covering", but Derek had to say something that made him sound more than just a liability instead of an asset.

"You stay here, lad," Chuck said to Kevin with another warm smile, "Me and Daniel will be right back."

"Are there more bad people in there?" Kevin asked, his seriousness still comical .

"I don't reckon," Chuck replied, "We'll be back right directly, alright? You go wait in the truck."

"Ok," Kevin said dejectedly, then sulked off to the truck. As Derek watched him pass, he noticed that Livie had already went to the truck and got both their guns. As she handed Derek's to him, Paula stepped closer to him, trying her best in her exhausted state to sway her hips as she had back at the police department. Derek noticed her breasts bouncing slightly under her shirt.

"Hey babe," she said as she leaned up against the Tahoe next to Derek, "I'm gonna go check around back, so I'll need a gun,too. And a cigarette if ya got it." Alicia gave her a cold glare as Paula allowed her knee to rub close to his crotch.

"Oh, just save it!" Livie said, rubbing her sore shoulder, "We're stuck in the middle of the apocalypse and all you two are worried about it having sex!"

"Oh, shut up!" Derek said as he turned to her, then focused his attention back on Paula. "There's another shotgun and some .22s in the truck. There's a few packs of cigarettes under the seat. Take _one_ pack, and yes I counted them."

Paula smiled, then waltzed on past him. As she did so, she made it a point to let the back of her hand graze across his crotch yet again. Derek could tell that Alicia was uncomfortable, maybe even a bit perturbed. Sadly, it made him feel good that an older woman and a teenager were at odds with each other over him.

Daniel had already knocked on the door several times, and once it was obvious that either nobody was home or that they just weren't opening the door, he looked back at Paula who was making her way to them, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth as she carried the .22 in both hands. After they had exchanged words, she cautiously trotted around the side of the house. Derek watched as Chuck and Daniel stepped back. Daniel raised the shotgun up, aimed it at the lock, and after Derek had opened his eyes after the reflexive blink the door was wide open. The two of them slowly stepped inside.

"I don't think you should be so friendly with Paula," Livie said as she stepped up next to him, "She seems like she's a whore."

"Who said I'm friendly with her?" Derek said, keeping his gaze focused on the house.

"Oh please," Livie said, "Everyone knows what you two did back at the sheriff's office. That's just disgusting. I mean, she's so trashy looking."

"Well no one asked you," Derek said.

"She is a whore," Alicia said, "Well, maybe not a whore, but I know most of the younger guys in town have slept with her."

"See? I told you so!" Livie said just before she stuck her tongue out at him.

"I don't see where it's any of your business," Derek said, "So why don't you just shut up and keep look out across the road?"

"You just hate to admit I'm right!" Livie sang as she walked around the truck.

"Sorry about your mom," Derek said after a brief moment. Alicia turned her head away from him.

"It's alright," she replied, "I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be though," Derek said, "You're too sweet of a girl to have to go through that."

"You talk like I'll see her again," Alicia said, "Well I know I won't. Even if she got to whoever's house it was she was going to, she will just o.d. I've been expecting it for a long time now. She used to just smoke pot and it wasn't all that bad, she was even fun to be around. But when she got on the other stuff, she just wacked out. I didn't even know my own mom for the last four or five years."

"It might not mean too much," Derek said, "But you got us now, and we'll take care of you a lot better than that stupid bitch ever would."

Suddenly, she wrapped both of her arms around Derek's waist tightly and began to weep. Derek could feel her tears penetrating his shirt where she buried her face into him. Derek rolled his eyes, but couldn't bring himself to push her away from him. They stayed like that for a short while, and Derek was beginning to wonder about Daniel and the others. There hadn't been a sound since they went in. Finally, Derek gently pushed her head away from his chest.

"What the fuck's taking them so long?" Derek asked. Alicia tried to regain her composure, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. Derek tried to move away from her, but she latched onto him, holding him back.

"No," she said, "Don't leave me."

"I'm just going to go check on them," Derek said. He tried to pull away again, but she persisted.

"Please don't leave me!" she said, this time loud enough for everyone to hear. Livie came running across the yard.

"What's wrong?" she asked, the .38 in her hand much like she had seen in the tv shows.

"Derek's going in," Alicia said, "And I'm not letting him."

"Just stay here, Derek!" Livie exclaimed, giving him a condescending look, "Can't you do anything that anyone tells you?"

"I need to..." Derek started to say as he pulled against Alicia, but stopped when Daniel walked outside, holding the shotgun low. Daniel strolled slowly across the driveway, a grim look on his face. When he reached Derek and the others, Livie looked him square in the eyes.

"Oh my god," she said, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," Daniel said, "Everyone is ok. We searched the house and everything looks...alright."

"Well what the hell is everyone waiting for?" Derek said, "Let's get started. Karen! Kevin! Come on!"

Kevin bolted out of the truck, slamming the door. Derek could see when he turned around that Karen was sitting in the same spot she had been when they got out. Casting him an acknowledging glance, Derek knew she wouldn't leave the truck. He shrugged.

Alicia aided him as he followed the others inside, Livie badgering Daniel every step of the way. Even before they entered the house, an overwhelming stench wrinkled Derek's nose. Livie began to gag, while Derek and Alicia covered their noses with their shirts.

"You get used to it after a few minutes," Daniel said.

After crossing the thresh hold, Derek was stunned at the elegance and cleanliness of what seemed to be the living room. It was huge, hardwood flooring stretching from wall to wall. Oriental rugs were set about the room in a vogue fashion, some underneath the cherry furniture and antique lamps. A plasma screen tv took up almost half of the farthest wall, the centerpiece in the arrangement of sturdy couches and leather recliners. Elaborate paintings lined the rest of the walls. Had Derek not known better, he might have thought he were in an art gallery.

"Derek, you need to see this," Daniel said, nodding to a spiral staircase a few feet away. Alicia started to help him move that way when Daniel put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll take it from here," Daniel said as he shoved her away roughly.

"But," she started, only to be cut off.

"You three stay down here," Daniel said, "We've checked the whole house, and it's safe. See if you can find anything on tv."

"This better be fucking good," Derek said, dreading the assent up the staircase as Daniel helped him over to it. Derek sat the .40 down beside the first step.

Derek went up first, finding it a lot easier than he had thought since he could use both of his hands to brace himself. It was slow going, though. He had never even seen a spiral staircase before, let alone had to walk up one. Breathing heavily as he reached the top, he then leaned against the wall and lifted his arm up as Daniel put Derek's arm over his back.

"It's in here," Daniel said as he navigated them down a hallway that was just as lavish as the living room. At first Derek thought the torches lining the hall were burning until his eyes adjusted and he realized that instead of a flame there was a bulb burning inside the glass casing. He hadn't wasted the time to put his shoes back on when he exited the truck, and the velvet carpeting felt strange under his feet. As they passed several doors on either side, Derek could tell the stench was growing stronger, and when they finally reached the door Derek could see what was troubling Daniel.

They were standing in a bedroom just as lavish as the rest of the house. The bed was surrounded by a wood casing, the curtains on it pulled back to reveal a cluttered mess of photographs and empty wine bottles. Chuck was sitting next to the pictures, weeping softly with his head in his hands. Paula was standing next to the window, propped up against the wall smoking a cigarette.

The wall on the opposite side of the room had been splattered with blood, and when Derek turned the corner of the bed, he saw a man propped up against the wall, the entire front of his face and top of his head gone. The creme colored, button-up shirt and black slacks the man wore definitely fit in with the surroundings.

"Holy..." Derek said.

"Shhh!" Daniel shushed him, pointing to the door. Derek could hear feet shuffling behind it.

"Don't worry, it's locked," Daniel whispered, "Do you think we should open it?"

"Well we got three guns," Derek said, his voice setting off slow beating on the door, "It might be a good idea to see what's inside. Just make sure when you open that no one gets bit."

"Get out of the way!" Chuck said as he pushed himself off the bed, leaving the rifle beside it. He grabbed the shotgun from Daniel, Derek shaking his head as he saw the tears flowing from the man's cheeks.

"What are you..." Daniel said as Chuck walked over to the door and let loose a round into it's center. He then quickly unlocked and opened the door. Another explosion erupted and Paula let out a yelp as her body tensed up. Chuck stood there for a moment.

"It's alright, now," Chuck said, sulking away from the door.

Derek hobbled over next to Chuck and saw the headless body of a woman in a night gown laying in the floor of a walk-in closet. Derek shook his head and turned, looking up at the man. Whatever had happened, it must have been horrible for him.

"What happened!?" Livie exclaimed as she entered the room, the .38 stuck out in front of her.

"Nothing," Derek said, then shook his head, "We need to get moving."


	17. Serenity

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 18 - Serenity**

"That should do it," Daniel said as he washed the gas off his hands in the kitchen sink, "I siphoned what gas I could out of the vehicles and filled up the Tahoe. I figured the Nissan would get better gas mileage than the truck, so me and Chuck filled it up too."

"That's good," Derek said as he sat on the counter, puffing away on a cigarette, "We should be ready to go soon."

"Karen and Kevin are upstairs asleep," Chuck said from the doorway, "Don't you think you should let them get a little bit of sleep?"

"No," Derek said, "Most of us got sleep on the way here."

"True," Chuck said, "But that wasn't any sort of restful sleep. It might be best if you let the women and the boy get a little rest, in case we run into some other situation between here and where we're going."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Derek said, "It's not those dead fucks I am worried about, it's crazy bastards like the ones last night."

"And you don't think if there's any people like that they won't mess with us on the road?" Daniel asked as he wiped his hands.

"Whatever," Derek said, succumbing to his own exhaustion. It had been a good while since he had actually slept. For the last few nights he had gotten little more than a weary nap divided into sections as he was woke up, roused by any number of noises or movements. Reluctantly he sighed and put his cigarette out.

"We'll stay here for two hours," Derek said, "I'll take first watch, then you," he pointed at Daniel, then to Chuck, "Then you."

"Sounds good to me," Daniel said as he took a soda from the refrigerator and popped it open.

"Go tell everyone else," Derek said, "I'll make my way to the living room."

XxXxXxXx

Daniel snored softly as Derek lit up another cigarette. The ashtray beside him was so full it was impossible to count how many butts were in it at first glance. A slight concern swept over Derek about his escalating smoking habit as of late, but the way things were looking he wouldn't have to worry about that for long, seeing as how most of the tobacco companies wouldn't be doing much business in the near future.

Derek's thoughts constantly drifted back to the man and woman upstairs. They seemed to be a successful couple. After sifting through the house and looking through the pictures on the bed, Derek gathered that the man was a social type, most of the pictures having him surrounded by friends with a very photogenic smile on his face. The woman seemed to indulge in the lifestyle befitting the man, whom Derek could only assume was either a doctor or some other high-paying profession. Several of the pictures of her showed her basking in the pool or sipping on some sort of alcoholic beverage.

How did they go from that happy couple to the way they were now, though? It was obvious she had turned, but how did it happen? There were no signs anywhere in the house of a struggle, and no one had said anything else about blood being in the cars. Maybe the young man they had passed on the road had been the one who had bitten her, or maybe even had been their son. There wasn't a body in the house, so another thought Derek entertained was that she might have died for whatever reason and the man discovered her when he had gotten home for work.

Whatever had went through the man's head after managing to lock his then-sick wife in the closet must have been terrible. Derek remembered how he had to kill Philena, but he knew that was different. These people had to have been together for a long time with memories Derek could only imagine. While Derek thought Philena was awesome, she was little more than a sexual object to him. The more he thought about it, the more remorse he felt for what he had done.

"Daniel," he said, leaning over to the couch and giving Daniel a rough push, "Get up, it's time to switch."

Derek glanced up at the clock; his forty-minute shift was over. It was a good thing , for he hadn't roused Daniel with the sole intent of going to sleep, he had done it more to ward off the things that swirled around in his mind.

"Yea, I know," Daniel said as he opened his bloodshot eyes.

"I'm laying down," Derek said as he sat down in the recliner, "Don't forget to wake Chuck up."

"Alright," Daniel said in a detached state as he unsteadily rose to his feet. Derek wondered if Daniel's heavy footsteps would wake the others, but he didn't think they could hear them from the upstairs bedrooms where they slept.

Derek closed his eyes, and was thankful he had been able to bring Daniel and Livie this far. With things moving so fast he had little time to focus on what little he had left to be thankful for and instead had to focus on what he had to do to ensure their survival. Chances were everyone else he had ever known was dead, or at the very least separated from him by hordes of the undead, wiry wrecks on the roads, and gruesome war zones. Daniel and Livie were all that he had left. The others was just circumstantial to him.

How he became the leader of the motley crew he had he couldn't remember as the walls of sleep began to crash down on him. He went through them all in his mind. Karen and Kevin he seemed to associate with one another, seeing as how Kevin flocked to her until the events that had sent her into her deep depression. Derek could still hear her incessant crying from the bathroom upstairs. Had she not been so loud, he would have worried she might have drowned. Alicia was a sort of a conundrum to him. She wasn't any ugly girl by any stretch of the imagination, and the attention she focused on Derek gave him a sense of nostalgia as he remembered the youthful flirting when he was her age. She made him feel special, which Derek would never let anyone else know. How would it look if the others knew he was letting a teenage girl make him feel this way?

Derek had decided after some debate that he liked Chuck. The old man had a good heart, and was a lot heartier than Derek had given him credit. Just to look at him after the beating he had received the night before spoke volumes. Finally Derek thought of Paula. She was the type of woman his mother had warned him about; trashy, seductive, clever. Ever since he had met her she gave him a vibe of being a user. His previous strategy to manipulate her and allow their odd relationship to flourish now frustrated Derek. He didn't know exactly what he would do with her. Of course she was now part of his group, but now wasn't the time to be thinking with the wrong head. Still, he couldn't help but entertain thoughts of her as he closed his eyes and let his mind wander.

After what had seemed like mere seconds, Derek slowly opened his eyes. His throat was dry with gelled spittle that complimented the throbbing in his head nicely. A yawn began to escape from him until something jabbed at his mind. Something wasn't right. Tensing up in his chair, Derek pricked up his ears to listen. It was darker than it had been when he had fallen asleep. Too dark.

Derek jolted up, the make-shift cast Paula had fashioned on his foot causing him an unnecessary step to the left as he reached out and grabbed the .22. Scanning the room in a panic, he eyed Daniel sitting next to the door, fast asleep.

"What the fuck!?" Derek screamed, causing Daniel to jerk awake.

"Huh...wha..." Daniel said as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"You fell asleep before waking Chuck up, didn't you!?" Derek said, "Get your ass upstairs and check on the others!"

Daniel didn't say a word as he pushed himself off the ground and ran up the stairs, the other .22 in tow. Derek could hear voices as Daniel crashed into someone in the hallway. The barrage of questions let Derek know that everyone upstairs was alright. He drug himself into the kitchen, swinging the .22 from side to side. Once he was satisfied that there were no zombies on the lower level, he walked over to the back door and opened it.

The sun had already descended below the tree line, the sky emitting a soft, red glow off in the distance. Derek stepped out into the backyard, carefully watching the distant forest as well as his flanks for any signs of movement. There was nothing, and so he moved around to the side of the house. Once again he had failed to put his shoes on and the grass was damp against his feet. The only noises he could hear was the sound of birds in the distance. A quick survey of the front yard yielded the same results as that of the rest of the perimeter. For now all was well.

"Fucking idiot," Derek mumbled to himself as he slung the.22 over his shoulder and made his way in through the front door. By this time, everyone had assembled in the living room brandishing their weapons, with the exception of Karen, who was obviously too mentally unstable to handle a firearm, and Kevin. The clothes Karen had picked out from the mistress of the house's wardrobe weren't too alluring; a pair of black slacks that had been left unbuttoned because they were to small for her and a man's button-up shirt that threatened to swallow her whole.

"Well what the hell is everyone waiting for?" Derek said, then pointed to the bags, backpacks, and purses they had found and stuffed full of supplies and food, "Let's get loaded up and get the fuck out of here!"

"You're looney!" Paula said, placing her hand on her hip, "There's no way in hell I'm leaving this house with the sun going down!" Karen sat down on the couch and laid her head down onto her knee caps as she pulled her legs close.

"I agree," Chuck said, "There's no reason for us to go traipsing around in the middle of the night running into who knows what out there."

"Well it wouldn't be dark outside if everyone would have left when I said we needed to!" Derek retorted, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I don't want to go back outside!" Kevin whined from the couch.

"I think they're right, Derek," Livie said, putting the .38 down on the arm of the couch, "I mean, it's dark outside, and I don't want something else happening like what happened last night."

"You people are fucking retarded," Derek said, "Nothing will happen in the dark that won't happen during the day. If anything, it will keep those dead fucks from seeing us! We have gas, weapons, and everyone has had rest. Hell, we even got a good stock of food and drinks in case something does go wrong!"

"Well you can just go by yourself," Paula said as she lit up a cigarette. She didn't look as good after just waking up as Derek remembered.

"Dammit," Derek said, fuming, "I don't care! We'll just all fucking die here!"

"Dude," Daniel said, "You're way over-reacting here. It'll just be for the night."

"Whatever," Derek said as he walked over to the door, "I'm going to see if these rich bastards have a hammer and some nails or something to secure the front door. If I have to stay here, I'm at least going to make sure nothing can just walk right on in."

"Sounds like a good idea," Chuck said, having given up on trying to correct Derek's language issue, "I think I saw a battery drill in the basement. Let's go have a look."

Derek mumbled to himself as he stormed off behind Chuck, who had laid the assault rifle down. To the side of the kitchen there was a small hallway, roughly ten feet long with a door on either side. The pantry door on the right was wide open, having been pilfered by Paula and Daniel earlier that day. Chuck opened the other door and, after flipping on the light switch to his right, revealed a long stairway.

Derek was a little surprised with the speed Chuck bounded down the steps. Derek was a bit more cautious as he made his decent, partially because he hadn't personally seen that it was free of any undead menace, but mostly because he tried to keep any unnecessary pressure off of his hurt ankle. About hallway down the step, Derek could make out the colorful bottom of what he thought was a box. Once he had made it down a few more steps a perfectly well-kept arcade game welcomed him, the screen flashing a dazzling array of high scores.

"Holy shit..." Derek said when he reached the bottom of the steps. The room opened up into a game room, fully outfitted with three arcade games, two pool tables, a tv, couches, and best of all, a bar.

"I figured it might not be a good idea if I let everyone know this was down here," Chuck said, pointing to a door on the opposite side of the room, "But now you know. The actual basement is through this door"

Derek took a second to look around the room in amazement. Deep down he wished that he had found this place before the dead began to rise, but since they were staying the night he decided he would make full use of the facilities. More than likely this was the reason Chuck had neglected to tell anyone about the game room earlier.

"'Ere we go," Chuck said as he stepped out of the room. In his good hand he had a drill and in the other was a small box that Derek assumed were screws.

"We'll make sure that door holds now," Chuck said as he walked past Derek and back up the stairs.

XxXxXxXx

Daniel grimaced as the fiery liquid made it's way down his throat, causing his eyes to water. The shock of it had caused his body to tense up, but once this had passed and his hearing returned, the laughter of everyone in the room caught his ears. Derek was sitting at the head of the table, pointing at him. Chuck and Paula, while not as loud and obnoxious as Derek, chimed in as well. Even Karen, for the most part in a world of her own, managed a giggle.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked, "Is it a little too stout for you?"

"Oh, leave him alone," Paula said, steam rising off the food in front of her, "He's still just a baby. Give him some time, and it'll come natural."

"Well let's hope that it doesn't," Chuck said, bringing his glass of wine to his lips.

"That tasted disgusting," Daniel said, the shot of vodka leaving the most horrendous taste in his mouth, "How can anyone drink this crap?"

"It takes an acquired taste," Paula replied as she downed a shot of whiskey and chased it with a soda. She shuddered a bit, then smiled.

"I think it's just gross," Alicia said, "Wine is alright I guess, but everything else tastes awful."

"You kids don't know what you're missing," Derek said just before he sunk his teeth into a bite of honey-glazed chicken.

Paula and Alicia had prepared quite a meal. Shortly after Chuck had fixed the door, the two of them looked through the perishables and meat that they had left in the refrigerator for obvious reasons and then set to work. Daniel had never had honey-glazed chicken before, but then again, his father wasn't much of a cook either. There was a vast array of vegetables on the table to compliment the chicken, the remnants of the fresh produce left in the house.

Daniel took his fork and dug into the food, watching as the others laughed and carried on. It was very hard for him to take as much enjoyment in the evening as the others had, especially Derek and Paula with the pool table and Kevin with the arcade games. Too much had happened, and it played heavily on Daniel's mind.

He wondered how the world could ever go back to the way it was before. Maybe it never would. There was a good possibility that one day only the dead would walk the earth, and the civilization once known to be human would decay and fall back to dust. If things were to ever get better, Daniel reckoned it would be a very long time, and until then the living would constantly be on the run.

"Daniel, you have to try this!" Livie said as she offered him a glass of coconut rum, just one of the many things Derek had found when he looted the bar downstairs.

"No, I'm fine," Daniel said as he raised the soda up to his mouth.

"More for me then!" Livie said as she bottomed the glass up, then coughed heavily as her face turned red.

Shaking his head as a smile came to his lips, he couldn't help but chuckle at his sister. Out of everything left in the world, and even everything in it before all of this started, she was the one thing he cared for most. After their parents had divorced, they didn't see their mother for months and sometimes years at a time. Their father began spending more time away from home. Sometimes it was because of work, and sometimes Daniel wasn't quite sure why, but it never failed that he would most likely be gone on just about any given day.

Everything had changed, though. As bad as Daniel resented the fact that his father was never there, he wished he still had the chance to complain about it. Livie was all he had left in the world now. Well, her and Derek. But Derek was another story entirely.

There were times Daniel really didn't care much for Derek, but most of the time he was alright. It made Daniel a little angry when Derek would boss him around, but it would quickly pass. A lot of the times when Derek got onto him, he figured he deserved it. Ever since he could remember he was doing something wrong, whether it be school work or handing his father the wrong tool when Daniel was helping him work on a car. Daniel had just come to accept the fact that he probably wouldn't ever be able to do anything right.

For a good while after they had all finished eating, everyone sat around the table talking and laughing. Karen had even laughed once or twice, but Daniel knew she would be tormented by the events of the previous night for the rest of her life, however long that may be. Alicia had taken to drinking a bottle of blackberry wine after a little goading from Derek. She was drinking the fourth glass by Daniel's count, and he loved to watch her in her semi-stupor.

It wasn't long before Paula pulled Derek up from his chair and the two of them exited the kitchen, more than likely to find a comfortable bed somewhere. Karen said something about going to take another shower, obviously making it a habit for some reason. Livie and Alicia went downstairs to shoot some pool, little Kevin pulling Chuck along behind them. Daniel sat there for a moment, relishing the peace and semi-quiet, then stood up. Taking a few steps away from the table, he looked back at the bottle of vodka.

"What the hell," Daniel said to himself as he walked back over and picked it up before heading downstairs with the others.

At the foot of the stairs, Chuck and Kevin were playing a shoot-em up type arcade game. It did Daniel's heart some good to hear the little boy laughing. Livie was trying to balance on her pool stick, and not having much luck at it, while Alicia laughed hysterically. Daniel walked past both of them, settling down on a couch next to the tv.

Reluctantly, he screwed the top off of the bottle of vodka and stared, attempting to size it up. He had only tasted alcohol a few times in his life, but never enough to get any type of buzz off of it. As he closed his eyes he did his best to seal off his nasal cavity before slamming the bottle to his lips and letting it flow down into his stomach. It went down well enough, the taste a lot smoother than it had been earlier, and it had an almost vegetable-quality to it. After several gulps, and some cheering from the girls as they awkwardly knocked the balls around the pool table, he pulled the bottle away and sat it in his lap. Maybe that wasn't so bad...

Daniel's body convulsed and his face contorted as the full taste and sensation of the vodka hit him. Why in the world people would make a habit of drinking he would never know, especially if they were drinking this. Daniel watched the girls for a while, catching Alicia's eyes a couple of times. Theor inebriation level seemed to sky-rocket with the two of them laughing at just about everything and any chance of Daniel talking to Alicia in a sober state faded away.

A slight floating feeling captured him now. Without the hesitation and caution this time, he turned up the bottle once again, and this time he drank roughly a quarter of it. The aftertaste wasn't anywhere near as bad this time, and he sat furher back in the chair.

Things really weren't all that bad. Like Derek had said, they had weapons and food. Above all else, they had shelter and vehicles to ensure some sort of protection in case something did go wrong. By noon the next day, they should be in a town Daniel suddenly couldn't remember the name of. They would be protected by some men, again the name slipped him, who were not military but at the same time they were. Daniel let out a laugh when he realized this all made perfect sense to him.

Once again, Alicia caught his eye. For the first time in his life he felt confident, even strong. When he lifted himself off the couch, he stumbled a bit, but moved towards the pool table with a sense of purpose. Alicia and Livie crowded around him, giggling loudly, and they all raised their glasses in the air before downing them, ready to see what other types of liquid serenity they could find.


	18. Clayton

**Author's Note - I think it's time to be honest and say this story has lost interest for me. The story just isn't coming together. I think I got so caught up in the hopes of publishing it that I pushed certain chapters and elements just to get the story done. I am going to finish this story as it stands now, and probably in the next few chapters, but expect a massive rewrite. This chapter has remained half-finished for about a month now, but I struggled through the end of this chapter and have decided to take the rest of the story straight to the punch and artistically eliminate the characters I have come to loath. Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated!**

**The Long Road**

**Chapter 19 - Clayton**

Derek still got tickled every time he thought about how hung over the kids were when he woke them up that morning. All three of them could barely move without moaning. Alicia even began to cry. It was all he, Chuck, and Paula could do to get them into the vehicles. Looking back in the rearview mirror at Daniel, passed out with a small brass garbage can they had taken from the house, he wished he had stayed up long enough to watch the little party they had.

The mid-day sun was relentless as it beamed in through the window as the Tahoe and Nissan navigated their way through the rubble of what used to be a small town. Apparently a fire had broken out, and from where ever it had started had traveled along the power lines or was blown hard enough by the wind to consume the whole town. They had already come upon three felled telephone poles, two of which they managed to go around and the other was so burned they were able to drive over without a hitch. Luckily, Derek thought, they hadn't gotten a flat tire.

Occasionally, one of the undead would stagger towards them. Of the few that had gotten close enough for Derek to see, the fire had consumed both the living and the undead. Whatever distinguishing features the creatures had in life had been burned away and replaced with a thick sheen of black.

When they came upon the town, Paula stopped the Nissan told Derek she used to work there. It had been agreed upon that she would take the lead. Daniel, Livie, and Alicia were the only passengers in the Tahoe, which made for a much more comfortable ride than some of the previous ones. Derek had refused to relinquish the keys to the Tahoe, and Karen and Kevin wished to stay with Chuck. Derek's ankle was well enough to drive and Paula was the only other person fit to drive, so it was settled, especially considering how much easier it was to load a hung over teenager into the Tahoe as opposed to the Nissan.

A very majestic feeling came to Derek, as the smell of burnt wood and smoke came to his nostrils. It almost felt like he was driving through a movie. It was all so surreal to him, how just a few days ago the little town must have been bustling with life. There would have been people eating lunch inside the building that once stood behind the charred sign spelling out "Diner". Children would have been riding their bikes. Old men would have been playing chess in the little park, which appeared to be the only part of town with any resemblance to it's former self.

Suddenly, Derek caught movement out of the corner of his left eye. When he turned to look, it was gone. Apprehension gripped him as it had several times recently, the beating of his heart threatening to deafen him. _Probably just a fucking zombie._

And so they continued onward. Alicia's snoring began to get on Derek's nerves. He would have much rather had Daniel sitting next to him in case something went wrong, but he figured any three of them would do just as good as the next. An hour or so earlier, Derek was a bit concerned when he didn't see Livie in his rearview mirror. Much to his chagrin, she had slumped over and rolled halfway into the floor board. If nothing else, he thought, it would keep her safe from any grasping hands busting through the windows.

While listening to the same government-regulated messages that looped through all the still-functioning radio stations, Derek lit up a cigarette. They had either driven out of range from the broadcaster they had heard the previous day or he had never returned to his post. Derek couldn't really blame him if he hadn't; all he could really do was tell people where not to go, any place else was just chance.

For about the fifteenth time, Derek listened to the monotonous voice on the radio read off the list off supposed safety zones. A few of the names Derek could remember Phil deeming "compromised". When Derek heard "Clayton" through the truck's speakers, he hoped that it hadn't fallen like so many other places had. Chuck had said it was their last chance at finding any type of safety, but Derek didn't like to think of it like that. He had beaten it into himself that somewhere there was a group of survivors that could offer them the things they would need in the days and weeks to come; food, water, shelter.

The house they had found might have had all of those things, but only in sparing amounts. One day in the near future, the food and water would run out, and the only way to make sure none of the undead were able to break in would be to barricade themselves inside. At that point in time, there was still running water and electricity, but what would happen once the food was gone? Would they try the town that had blatantly stated it wouldn't allow visitors? Would they go hunt for the food themselves? No, it was best that they left that place.

Up ahead in front of their little convoy, two figured stepped into the road, waving their arms. Surely they weren't zombies. In all the encounters Derek had been in, he had never known them to ever flag down a vehicle. As he drew near to them, he could see they were wearing army some sort of military attire.

The tall, stocky man on the right was dressed in the newer "digital" camouflage. A bushy, unkept beard covered all the man's facial features with the exception of his eyes. In contrast to the man's menacing stature and appearance, a flash of white teeth could be seen as he smiled, then began to laugh. The other soldier, on the other hand, was wearing a tan shirt and the old version green camouflage pants. This man bothered Derek more than the other, as he wore a blue bandana across his face. Dog tags glistened brightly from the man's chest in the sunlight.

Paula came to a complete stop several yards away from the two, with Derek stopping just behind her. Through the rear windshield he could see the occupants frantically talking amongst themselves. Instinctively, he put his hand on the .357 sitting next to him in the seat as he turned to the others.

"Hey!" he said, "Wake up! Something's going on!"

Daniel jerked upright, then closed his eyes tight to fight off the pounding his head must be taking after the sudden movement. Alicia whined, covering her eyes with her hands. Not a sound came from the floor board except Livie's heavy breathing.

"Who are they?" Daniel asked, slurring the words a bit.

"I'm not sure," Derek replied as Daniel set a shotgun next to Derek, "But whoever they are, they better not fuck with us."

"Oh no," Alicia said as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"Hey, it's alright," Daniel said, "We're here, and I'm sure it's nothing."

Derek just watched in silence as Chuck poked his head out the window and engaged the two men in dialogue. There weren't any indications of friction, it just seemed like they were carrying on a normal conversation. Both front doors of the Nissan opened, and Chuck and Paula stepped out unarmed. Derek gripped the .357 as he watched, listening to Daniel's attempts at calming Alicia down. When he saw some handshakes exchanged, he decided he had best go see what was going on.

"Get up here," Derek said to Daniel, "If shit goes sour, I want you guys to get out of here."

Without giving anyone a chance to protest, Derek slid the .357 into the back of his pants and opened the door. Instantly the weight of the heat and humidity seemed to suck him down towards the ground. Beads of sweat began to develop on his brow as stepped towards the groups of people, his anxiety easing off a bit when he noticed Paula was laughing.

"Oh my God," Derek heard Paula say once he had gotten into earshot, "Thank you!"

"What the hell is going on?" Derek said as he stopped a few feet behind them.

"This guys are States Guardsmen from Clayton!" Chuck exclaimed with a broad smile as he turned to face Derek, "Isn't that great?"

"Really?" Derek said, deciding to keep his suspicions about the validity of the statement to himself for the moment.

"Pete Merriman," the bearded man said, looking almost gigantic up close, "It's a pleasure to meet ya! I tell ya what, we haven't come across too many people in the last few days. It sure is nice to know there's still some people coming our way!"

Pete stepped over to Derek and thrust his hand out towards him. Warily, Derek gripped it, and immediately wished he hadn't. Pete squeezed down and began to shake Derek vigorously, threatening to crush Derek's hand. You can tell a lot from a handshake, and aside from the near-broken bones he felt a sense of welcome emitting from the man.

"This scraggily lil' fella here is Joe Petry," Pete continued.

"That's _Sergeant _Joe Petry," the man said from behind his bandana. Joe looked less intimidating stature-wise than Pete, being closer to Derek's height and no where near as built as the giant. Something about Joe's voice set off a mental alarm in Derek's mind.

"Yea, Sergeant, whatever," Pete said, "Always trying to be all formal and such. Don't mind him too much, he just likes to take the whole Guard thing to the extreme." Joe scowled at him.

"So what exactly are you doing out here?" Derek asked, trying to keep his distance, "I thought Clayton was another fifty miles or so down the road."

"We're out on a supply run," Pete said, "We've got a good number of people there now, so it's best we keep the pickles in the barrels. Mrs. Paula here told us you're headed that way."

"Yes," Derek said, "We are. So long as it's not fucking overrun with those dead fucks."

"On no," Pete laughed, then a more serious look gripped his features. "We have a pretty defensible position. It's also a big plus that the lower population gave us the time to deal with the situations in our own towns and homes before setting up in Clayton. There's several contractors building concrete walls around the center of the town, and we've got a lot of boys setting up six-foot tall chain link fences around the whole dang town. So long as our luck holds out, Lord willin', the entire town should be closed in besides the gates in a matter of a few weeks."

"Sounds good to me," Derek said.

"Alrighty," Pete said, "I believe we're about done here anywho. We'll escort you the rest of the way. Not that there's too much to worry about. There ain't too many people in these parts, so that made it pretty easy to hunt those monsters down."

"Just the two of you?" Derek asked.

"Look around you," Joe said, crossing his arms. Derek and the others began to glimpse around, and at first all they saw were half-destroyed buildings, burnt-out cars, and the like. Then, as if on cue, a dozen or so men sprang into view, each with their weapon aimed down as they surrounded Derek and the others. What one might imagine to see in a situation like this would be a well-outfitted unit, perhaps all dressed in black SWAT-type gear. Much to Derek's disappointment, however, Pete's "soldiers" were more along the lines of some paramilitary shooting club. Granted there was an army-camo theme about their uniforms, they were hardly "uniform".

"It's alright boys," Pete said, motioning for them to drop their weapons, "They're going to follow us back to base. Get the convoy ready to roll out!"

After a few awkward "Yes sir"s and some shuffling about, the men disappeared. Pete pointed up the road, the way they were originally traveling.

"We have three trucks ready to roll out up there," Pete said, a smile still on his face, "Just move your vehicles up that way and we'll be along right directly."

Pete then turned away, Joe following close behind. Derek watched them as they made their way behind the ruins of a disheveled house. A loud diesel engine roared, and he could see the exhaust smoke rolling up from behind the building, and the sound of the engine faded off into the distance.

"I sure am glad those lads showed up," Chuck said, "I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get to Clayton."

"We're saved!" Paula said as she danced around like a little girl.

"We'll see," Derek said, then turned to walk back towards the Tahoe, "I'll follow you."

"What the hell's going on?!" Livie asked as she slumped over the front seat. She looked terrible, but at least she wasn't crying like Alicia had been. Daniel was still shaking off the effects of the previous night as he slid back over the seat as Derek got in.

"Those guys are from Clayton," Derek said, "A pretty weird bunch of fuckers, though. We're going to follow them."

"Holy shit!" Livie exclaimed, Daniel's sudden laughter rising in Derek's ear, "We're saved! Oh thank you God!" Alicia began to cry once again.

_For fuck's sake, I wish these kids would get a grip._

"Listen," Derek said as he pulled the vehicle into drive, slowly letting off the brake as he watched the Nissan pull forward, "I don't exactly know what all is going on, but we need to be ready in case something happens."

Derek awaited the praises his young friends would bestow upon the soldiers, almost certain they had reached the same conclusion that Paula and Chuck had. Oddly enough, though, all of them remained silent. Derek hoped that the events of the night before last had been etched into their memories, forever a reminder that they were now forced to live in a new world where no one could be trusted and that invitations should be scoped out, at best.

"Do you think they will try to hurt us?" Alicia asked, looking distantly out the window as they weaved through the debris and vehicles in the road.

"I hope not," Derek said, taking a cigarette from the pack on the dash and lighting it, "But I'm fucking tired of all this shit. I really hope this is the real deal."

"I know what you're saying," Livie said, "But not everyone is out to fuck someone over, Derek. I think this is all going to be alright."

"I hope you're fuckin' right," Derek said. In the rearview mirror, he watched Daniel as he loaded the old shotgun they had commandeered from the house in Howell Hollow. After the "click" of the barrel meeting the stock, Daniel turned and looked out the mirror, keeping it in his grasp.

Derek cranked the air up as high as it could go. It wasn't so much that he was getting hot, the Tahoe was actually very comfortable temperature wise. Another smell had caught his nose now, seeping in through the air vents. Up until a few days ago it had been a foreign smell to him, but once you had smelled it once you never forgot it; burnt flesh.

The road finally opened up, most of the debris having been moved off to the side of the road. Derek began to wonder how the soldiers, obviously the ones who had accomplished this task, had done it. His answer came quickly as they topped a small hill, revealing a convoy of semi-trucks, two backhoes, and a Jeep Wrangler which looked more at home in the mud than on any type of military excursion.

Once the two vehicles occupied by Derek and his crew had come into view, the Jeep pulled off down the road. On their way down the hill, Derek could see the backhoes moving out next just before the Nissan and the Tahoe found their way to the back of the convoy, their view further obstructed by the green trailer directly in front of them.

_Well, at least it looks like they got their shit somewhat together_. Derek took a long drag from his cigarette, his Tahoe bringing up the rear of the metal snake as it began to wind it's way across the plateau.

XxXxXxXx

"Next!" the soldier, a lanky teenager in what looked like an ROTC uniform, said as the green trailer sprang to life and entered the gate just ahead of them. Pete pulled the kid to the side and talked to him for a moment, motioning towards the Nissan. Pete laughed heartily, waving Paula forward.

_It's about fucking time_, Derek thought to himself as the sweat rolled off his brow. About halfway through their transit the cool, frigid air blowing from the vents on the dash went lukewarm at first, then a torrent of blistering heat made his eyes water. It didn't take long after he had flicked it off and rolled his window down that Livie had began to whine. Daniel and Alicia chatted amongst themselves, not concerned with the lack of the a/c. The breeze wasn't cool by any stretch of the imagination, but at sixty miles-per-hour, it was enough to ease one's wet forehead.

It was comforting to see all the dead bodies that lay alongside the road as well. Apparently Pete wasn't kidding when he used the word "hunt". While many of them had only a dark bead on their forehead, aside from their injuries prior to undeath, some of them had been cut up the middle with a machine gun. A couple of them had even been cut in half.

Derek only saw five zombies the whole time they had been on the road with Pete and his men. Each time, he could hear the redneck scream erupt just before the firing ensued. It usually began with a precise head shot, so Derek surmised the other twenty bullets were just for practice. Still, he didn't see any reason why he should worry. Yet.

"G'day, mate," a plump soldier said in a thick accent as he stepped towards the Tahoe. Paula had already went past the first building and turned. "If you'll just turn her in right there for me, it would be much appreciated."

"Yea, thanks," Derek said, about to pull off when the man stopped him.

"Oh, by the way," the soldier said, "Do any of you require medical attention?"

"No," Derek replied, "Unless you can fix a sprained ankle."

"Any bites?" the soldier asked.

"No," Derek replied sternly, giving the soldier a rough glance..

"Alright, then, carry on then mate," the soldier replied, and Derek pulled ahead towards the alley Paula had went down.

Derek took a moment to take in his surroundings before rounding the corner of the building. The view behind him was mesmerizing. The plateau expanded for miles in either direction with nothing but wheat and the occasional house dotting the landscape. To the east, Derek thought he could see the mountains, hazy and dim against the light of the sun.

"I don't think I'm gonna like this place," Alicia said as she gripped the door handle tightly, the effects of her hangover still prevalent.

From the outside of the road, all someone could see was the tall chain link fence surrounding the front of the town, the gate extending for several hundred yards in either direction. Barbed wire glistened from the top, and Derek wondered as he looked back if it was to keep the zombies out or to keep people in. Older buildings reached seven or eight stories tall, their time-washed bricks betraying their age. From the two buildings directly behind the gate, Derek noticed things protruding from the windows. A closer inspection revealed that they were gun barrels.

"Whadda ya say?" Pete said as he placed both hands on the passenger side door, startling Alicia.

"Easy girl,easy," Pete said, "Sorry if I startled ya. I bet ya'll are hungry as anythang, huh? Well go park the truck over yonder and we'll git ya'll fixed up, alright?"

"Thanks," Daniel said, the only person in the truck who hadn't forgotten manners.

Derek nodded to Pete, then took the corner of the building and drove into a slender alley way between two buildings. Once past both of them, the alley opened up into a large parking lot, probably about halfway full. Derek had no idea what the building served as now, but a few weeks ago it had been the city courthouse, which explained the parking lot. However, where Derek was used to courthouses having stone plaques and memorials, statues and banners, and the only thing signifying this as such was a large sign that read "Clayton City Court".

Paula and others were already out of the car by the time Derek pulled up alongside of them. The occupants of the Tahoe joined the others, everyone stretching their legs. Derek took a cigarette from his pack and lit it up.

"I can't believe we're here!" Paula said as she wrapped her arms around Derek's arm, almost burning herself on his cigarette. "I can't wait 'til we get to our rooms."

"Really?" Derek said as she cast him a mischievous glance, then pouted her lips at him.

"So where do we go from here?" Daniel asked.

"I guess we'll walk back up there and meet up with Pete," Derek said.

"Sounds good to me," Chuck said, "Let's get a move on it."

"For real," Derek replied, "Let's go."

Just then, a stifled sobbing came to Derek's ears. He followed the others' eyes to the back of the car where Karen was curled up in a ball, crying hysterically against her knees.

"Hey," Paula said as leaned down next to her, "Hey sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I...I don't want to be around any more men," Karen said as she turned away.

Derek sighed, then turned and started to walk away. He was tired of dealing with all the drama that came from Karen. Yes, she had been raped and he husband had been killed, but that was in the past now. Derek's heart went out to her, it really did, but all she was doing was making things harder on everyone else by constantly being in a mood. A great opportunity to be rid of her as well as the others had arrived in way of the town, however, and he planned to grasp it.

"Hey!" Pete yelled as the Jeep pulled around the corner of the building. Slowly, it came to a stop just short of Derek. Pete glanced around at everyone, then stood up in the seat.

"Well come on now!" he said, "We got all sort a' vittles just waiting fer ya!"

Everyone just looked at him at first, but after some goading, they all began to make their way towards the mess area. A stern hand gripped Derek's shoulder as he walked past the Jeep.

"Hey, are you the leader of this group?" Pete asked him, the jolly smile never leaving his face.

"Well, you might say that," Derek said as he leaned against the jeep to keep pressure off his bad ankle.

"I don't reckon I could talk to you away from the others could I?" Pete asked, "The subject matter might be a lil' harsh for most of yer friends."

"Whatever," Derek said, secretly happy to get away from them. Daniel and Alicia looked back at him as he hobbled to the other side of the Jeep. After getting in, Derek told them he would catch up with them later and the Jeep pulled off.


End file.
